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B^  *^'\lewlyn  David,  1842 
Bevan,  ^1^*  ^^^nts  and   I 


SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS 


Sermons  to  Students 


THOUGHTFUL    PERSONS 


LLEWELYN   D.^EVAN,  LL.B.,  D.D. 


V' 


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NEW  YORK 
CHA.RLES     SCRIBNER'S     SONS 

743  AND  745  Broadway 
1881 


COP^'RIGT^T    BY 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Trow's 

Printing  and  Bookbinding  CoMrANV 

201-213  E(i'<t  I'zth  Street 

NEW   YORK 


TO 

TWO    CONGREGATIONS 

SEPARATED    BY    LONG    LEAGUES    OF    STORMY  OCEAN 

BUT 

UNITED  IN  THE  AFFECTION  OF  THE  PREACHER 

Jt  ^ihUd.U  t^isz  Unmans 


I.  Religion  and  the  Cultivation  of  the  Intellect. 

**  For  the  Lord  giveth  wisdom  :  out  of  His  mouth  cometh 
knowledge  and  understanding."     (Proverbs  ii.,  6.). 


II.  The  Study  of  Science. 

**  Skilful  in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and  un- 
derstanding science,      (Daniel  i.,  4.) 29 

III.  Religion  and  Law. 

*'  The  law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it  lawfully."  (I.  Timothy, 
i.,  8.) 59 

IV.  The  Art  of  Healing. 

«' Physician,  heal  thyself."     (Luke  iv.,  23.)        .  .         .     87 

V.  Religion  and  Art. 

**  And  Moses  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  See,  the  Lord 
hath  called  by  name  Bezaleel  the  son  of  Uri,  the  son  of 
Hur,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  :  and  he  hath  filled  him  with 
the  spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  in  understanding,  and  ia 
knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship ;  and  to 
devise  curious  works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in 
brass,  and  in  the  cutting  of  stones,  to  set  them,  and  in  carv- 
ing of  wood,  to  make  any  manner  of  cunning  work.    And 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

he  hath  put  in  his  heart  that  he  may  teach,  both  he  and 
Aholiab  the  son  of  Ahisamach,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan.  Them 
hath  he  filled  with  wisdom  of  heart,  to  work  all  manner 
of  work,  of  the  engraver,  and  of  the  cunning  workman, 
and  of  the  embroiderer,  in  blue,  and  in  purple,  in  scarlet, 
and  in  fine  linen,  and  of  the  weaver,  even  of  them  that 
do  any  work,  and  of  those  that  devise  cunning  work. 
(Exodus  XXXV.,  30-35.).         .         .         .         .         .         -lis 

VI.  Religious  and  Irreligious  Theology. 

"Now  unto  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only 
wise  God,  be  honor  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 
(I.  Timothy,  i.,  17.) 151 

YII.  Religion  and  Life— The  Supreme  Study. 

*'  For  what  is  your  life?  "     (James  iv. ,  14.)       .         .         .   181 


RELIGION 

AND  THE   CULTIVATION 

OF   THE   INTELLECT. 


Proverbs  II.,  6. — **For  the  Lord  giveth  wisdom  :  out 
of   His 
standinj 


of   His   mouth  cometh   knowledge   and   under- 


*&• 


RELIGION  AND    THE   CULTIVATION    OF 
THE  INTELLECT. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  conq^reQfation,  to 
which  I  ministered  in  London,  to  include  with- 
in it  a  large  number  of  students,  whose  pecu- 
liar position  naturally  demanded  from  the 
preacher  a  special  regard.  Related  to  some 
of  them  by  intimate  ties,  and  feeling  a  deep 
and  sympathetic  interest  in  all  students,  it  be- 
came almost  a  paramount  duty  to  address 
them  in  some  mode  more  direct  and  immedi- 
ate than  that  presented  by  the  usual  service. 
And  now  the  time  seems  to  have  come  when 
the  delivery  of  these  discourses  may  not  be 
inappropriate  in  this  pulpit.  This  might 
have  been  done  by  lectures  to  students 
pure  and  simple,  to  which  students  alone 
were  invited.  But  one  of  the  dangers  of  the 
present   day,  which   consists  in   too  sharply 


4  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

separating  men  in  classes,  and  thinking  of 
them  only  in  some  professional  form,  would 
have  been  thus  incurred.  The  subdivision 
of  labor,  and  the  vast  increase  of  possible 
activities,  which  so  mark  our  time,  and  com- 
pel men  to  become  specialists,  tend  to  ren- 
der even  the  intellect  narrow  although  in- 
tense, and  to  destroy  the  wider  culture  which 
makes  us  truly  human.  I  have  no  sympathy 
with  class  gatherings  of  any  kind,  and  least  of 
all  in  relation  to  worship  and  religious  thought. 
Whilst,  therefore,  addressing  students,  I  have 
rather  Invited  them  to  join  in  the  common 
congregation,  so  that  on  the  one  hand  the 
student  may  not  forget  his  relation  to  all  so- 
ciety, and  that,  on  the  other  hand  the  more 
promiscuous  crowd  may  come  into  sympathy 
with  the  special  learner,  and  by  God's  bless- 
ing, all  may  find  advantage  in  the  development 
of  a  reverent  spirit,  a  pure  heart,  and  a  truly 
Divine  life. 

I  propose  to  address  various  classes  of 
students,  but  before  doing  this  severally,  it 
will  be  well  to  consider  the  general  bearings 


RELIGION— CULTIVATION   OF  INTELLECT.         5 

of  religion  upon  any  and  all  forms  of  mental 
discipline.  The  subject  of  the  first  address  is, 
therefore,  Religion  i^t  its  relation  to  the  ctd- 
tivation  of  the  mind. 

That  those,  whose  sphere  in  life  requires  a 
more  exact  and  extensive  mental  training  than 
the  majority  of  people,  should  entertain  right 
views  upon  religion,  and  should,  perhaps  more 
than  any,  possess  the  religious  spirit,  needs 
only  to  be  stated.  For  their  own  sakes,  reli- 
gion is  the  chief  concern,  and  in  respect  to 
others,  over  whom  they  will  some  day  exer- 
cise a  very  deep  and  lasting  influence.  It  is  a 
serious  evil  if  the  best  trained  minds  of  the 
community  are  either  hostile  or  indifferent  to 
the  claims  of  God. 

Then  again,  students  are  placed  in  peculiar 
peril  in  regard  to  religion.  There  is  a  prev- 
alent notion  amongst  half-educated  people 
that  the  hiofhest  culture  of  the  mind  tends  to 
the  destruction  of  the  religious  spirit.  Reli- 
gion having  to  do  with  things  that  are  above 
reason,  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  unreason- 
able, and  when  a  youth  commences  to  use  his 


6  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

reasoning  faculties  with  much  freedom  and 
enjoyment  he  sometimes  supposes  that  reh- 
gion  is  to  be  suddenly  and  rashly  condemned 
because  it  is  irrational,  and  not  unfrequently 
shipwreck  is  made  of  reason  and  faith  at  once. 
There  is,  moreover,  at  the  present  day  a  spe- 
cial antagonism  between  the  school  which 
prides  itself  upon  its  rationalism  and  the  school 
which  is  equally  intrenched  in  its  strong  faith. 
Bigots  on  both  sides  hurl  scorn  and  anathema, 
and  rush  into  dusty  war.  Ignorance  of  each 
other's  real  character  and  aims  combines  with 
intense  self-confidence  and  assurance,  and 
when  all  this  takes  place  in  the  hurry  and 
thoroughlessiiess  of  our  times  it  is  not  a  strange 
thing  if  the  faith  of  many  waxes  feeble,  and 
the  best  interests,  especially  of  the  young,  are 
lost  altogether  in  the  general  hubbub. 

The  habits  of  student  life  moreover,  are 
not  always  helpful  to  the  preservation  of  a  re- 
ligious-character. The  studies,  the  compani- 
ons, the  work  on  the  one  side  and  the  recrea- 
tion on  the  other,  often  operate  injuriously 
upon  the  spiritual  tone.     There  is  nothing  to 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.         / 

give  a  start  to  religion ;  there  is  little  to  sus- 
tain it.  Many  are  they  who,  in  the  course  of 
study,  have  wholly  lost  their  faith. 

Religion  may  be  properly  considered  in  re- 
lation to  the  ends  of  study,  and  to  the  spirit 
in  which  these  ends  are  to  be  pursued. 

What,  in  the  first  place,  are  the  proper  ob- 
jects of  a  man's  study  ?  There  are,  of  course, 
specific  subjects  with  which  the  student  must 
make  himself  familiar.  The  lawyer  must 
know  the  principles  and  be  familiar  with  the 
practice  of  law.  The  physician  must  under- 
stand the  constitution  of  the  human  frame, 
and  the  various  marks  and  sio-ns  of  disease. 

o 

The  man  of  science  must  unlock  the  secrets 
of  nature,  explore  her  facts,  and  educe  her 
laws ;  and  all  these  attainments  must  be 
sought  by  special  attention  to  that  line  of 
knowledge  along  which  each  has  to  journey. 
A  student  must,  for  the  most  part,  master  his 
profession,  unless  he  is  to  be  distanced  in  the 
race — a  sorry  failure  in  the  world.  But, 
things  to  be  known,  do  not  by  any  means 
embrace  all  with  which  the  student  must  in- 


8  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

termeddle.  To  make  the  brain  a  mere  store- 
house of  facts  and  laws,  however  beautiful, 
recondite,  and  vital  they  may  be,  is  not 
enough ;  and  although  too  often,  students  re- 
gard the  acquisition  of  knowledge  in  their 
special  branch  as  the  sole  matter  of  impor- 
tance to  them,  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  who 
has  only  acquired  even  a  very  extensive 
array  of  facts,  has  not  profited  in  the  highest 
degree  by  his  studies.  This  is  rendered  all 
the  more  evil  by  the  fashion  of  examination 
which  now  so  largely  prevails.  Everybody 
must  undergo  an  examination,  generally  com- 
petitive, before  he  can  enter  into  his  place  in 
life,  and  do  the  duty  of  a  man.  If  you  would 
become  an  adviser  of  men  in  perplexity,  you 
must  be  examined.  If  you  would  seek  to 
lessen  disease  and  to  minister  to  the  unfor- 
tunate, you  must  be  examined.  Public  offices 
have  examinations  at  their  portal ;  and  I 
sometimes  think  that  men  will  some  day  have 
to  undergo  a  competitive  examination  be- 
fore they  enter  into  life  itself.  The  result  of 
all  this  is  the  temptation  to  pursue  only  such 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.         9 

Study  as  will  enable  a  man  to  pass  the  exami- 
nation. It  needs  much  ability  in  the  exami- 
ner, and  more  variety  of  dealing  with  cases 
than  can  be  generally  secured  by  colleges, 
institutions,  and  the  like,  to  discover  what  a 
man  really  is,  rather  than  what  he  knows  ; 
and  hence  study  becomes  the  mere  exercise 
of  the  memory,  with  all  the  attendant  temp- 
tations and  perils  of  what  is  known  in  student 
parlance  as  "  cram." 

But  education  ought  to  discipline  and  to 
strengthen  the  powers  of  the  mind.  This  is 
the  real  object  of  all  study.  Men  are  to  be 
prepared  for  their  work.  Indeed,  the  study 
which  is  intended  to  increase  knowledge  and 
to  gather  facts,  often  begins  only  when  stu- 
dent life  ceases.  In  our  earlier  years  we  have 
to  leara  hoAv  to  learn,  to  be  taught  and  prac- 
tised in  the  best  way  of  observing,  thinking, 
comparing,  judging.  The  best  student  is  the 
man  who  zs  most,  not  the  man  who  has 
learned  most.  The  mere  bookworm,  however 
learned,  is  of  little  use  in  life.     That  alone  is 

worthy  of  the  name  of  preparation  for  pro- 

I* 


10  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

fessional  or  any  other  form  of  life  which  tends 
to  bring  out  and  perfect  the  mental  faculties. 
Such  education  makes  ready,  capable,  trust- 
worthy men.  Such  education  alone  fits  us 
for  citizenship,  for  highest  service  to  our  fel- 
lows, for  the  discharge  of  our  duty  in  that 
place  and  that  office  to  which  it  has  pleased 
God  to  call  us. 

The  highest  ideal  of  study,  therefore,  must 
be  that  which  secures,  or  at  least  aims  at 
securing,  thoroughness  of  discipline  and 
wholeness  of  view.  Ignorance  consists  in  the 
inability  to  see  the  many  aspects  which  be- 
long to  all  objects  of  man's  attention.  The 
difference  between  the  man  of  culture  and  the 
boor  is,  that  the  latter  has  only  a  few  ways  in 
which  he  can  reofard  thinofs.  It  is  the  asso- 
ciations  which  gather  round  every  object,  the 
many  relations  which  all  things  bear  to  each 
other — these  make  up  the  fulness  of  life.  In 
proportion  as  a  man  merely  sees  things  in 
themselves,  and  is  only  sensible  of  the  sensa- 
tions which  they  produce  upon  him,  in  that 
proportion  he  is  only  an  animal,  without  the 


RELIGION— CULTIVATION   OF  INTELLECT.       II 

exercise  of  that  Divine  reason  which  makes 
him  different  from  the  brute,  and  raises  him 
to  the  kinship  of  the  immortals.  It  is  the 
glory  of  man  that  to  him  the  **  primrose  on 
the  river's  brim"  is  something  else  than  a 
primrose.  Man  can  ''  look  before  and  after," 
and  it  is  in  order  to  cultivate  this  ability,  that 
men  are  called  to  study  and  to  learn.  The 
well-educated  mind  is  able  to  see  all  these 
sides  of  life  and  things,  to  perceive  the  har- 
monious blending  of  the  diverse,  and  to  mark 
how  all  the  universe  is  bound  up  within  itself 
into  one  grand  and  perfect  whole. 

Hence  the  good  student  will  leave  no  side 
of  his  mind  undisciplined  and  untaught.  Per- 
fection must  be  the  goal  to  v/hich  he  tends, 
completeness  the  final  end  of  all  his  endeav- 
ors. Perfection  is  nothing  but  the  harmoni- 
ous and  free  working  of  all  parts,  nothing 
disproportionate,  nothing  uncared  for,  noth- 
inof  monstrous  or  neoflected.  In  one  word, 
the  perfect  student  should  be  the  perfect 
man. 

But  I  shall  be  at  once  told  that  such   an 


12  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

ideal  of  "  student"  life  is  impossible.  At  one 
time,  perhaps,  it  might  have  been  competent 
for  a  single  mind  in  the  space  generally  allot- 
ted to  life,  to  have  gained  an  almost  ade- 
quate acquaintance  with  everything  that 
could  then  be  known ;  but  now  such  univer- 
sality of  acquirement  is  quite  unattainable. 
So  numerous  are  the  lines  of  investigation, 
and  so  extensive  the  field,  even  in  single 
divisions  of  single  sciences,  that,  were  a  man 
to  be  as  capable  as  Solomon  and  as  long- 
lived  as  Methuselah,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  hope  to  compass  even  one  of  these 
divisions.  This  is  true,  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  I  am  speaking  not  of  acquire- 
ments, but  powers.  To  learn  everything  is 
not  given  to  man,  but  to  be  his  best  self  in 
everything  which  he  can  be — this  is  his  privi- 
lege, this,  indeed,  his  divine  destiny.  There 
is  no  power  of  the  mind  which  may  not  be 
trained,  and  that  for  which  I  contend,  is  that 
all  the  powers  and  faculties  should  be  dili- 
gently and  proportionately  exercised.  No 
good  student  will  neglect  any  side  of  his  be- 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.       1 3 

\ng.  He  must  have  fulness  of  nature,  wide- 
ness  of  capacity  ;  at  least,  all  that  God  has 
given  him,  must  receive  its  due  regard. 

Now,  it  is  properly  here,  that  the  subject  of 
religion  comes  to  be  considered  by  the  stu- 
dent. The  nature  which  he  possesses  is 
distinctly  religious — that  is  to  say,  he  has 
capacities  and  powers  which  have  relation  to 
the  Supreme  Being,  and  which  require  train- 
ing and  discipline  equally  with  all  the  others. 
Man  is  naturally  formed  for  God,  and  if  a 
man  does  not  attend  to  that  faculty  whereby 
he  regards  God  and  can  apprehend  llim,  he 
neglects  that  part  of  himself  which  is  most 
important  and  most  influential. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  no  man  of  intelli- 
gence will  ignore  the  part  which  religion  has 
to  take  In  our  individual  and  social  life  ;  no 
man  can  afford  to  pass  lightly  by  the  claims 
upon  him  which  are  put  forth  by  religion.  I 
know  it  is  very  easy  to  lay  aside  every  idea 
of  God,  and  to  dismiss  the  subject  of  our  duty 
to  Him  carelessly  and  without  a  thought. 
But  this  only  evinces  a  shallow  nature  and  a 


14  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

very  unthinking  mind.  It  is  true  that  many- 
men  famous  for  their  learning,  and  of  vast 
intellectual  influence,  have  not  hesitated  to 
avow  themselves  or  to  allow  themselves  to 
be  considered  as  absolutely  denying  the  be- 
ing of  God,  and,  consequently,  the  foundation 
of  all  religion  of  any  kind  whatever ;  but 
these  have  been  exceptional,  and  by  their 
action  in  this  respect  have  placed  themselves 
utterly  outside  of  some  of  the  most  pressing 
questions  of  our  life  ;  and,  certainly,  are  con- 
fronted by  a  much  greater  number,  and,  I 
venture  even  to  affirm,  a  number  made  up  of 
men  of  vaster  mental  powers  and  more  wide- 
ly spread  influence  than  themselves,  who 
strenuously,  and  without  a  moment's  failing, 
have  affirmed  their  belief  in  God,  their  recog- 
nition of  the  supreme  relation  which  man 
bears  to  his  Creator. 

Into,  the  question  of  the  existence  of  this 
religious  side  of  our  nature,  however,  I  am 
not  going  to  enter.  I  presume  it  will  be 
acknowledged  by  the  majority  of  those  who 
hear  me  to-day.      My  point  is,  that  accepting 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION    OF   INTELLECT.       1 5 

the  religious  nature  as  a  fact,  that  nature  must 
be  trained  and  disciplined,  and  must  become  a 
subject  of  culture,  if  we  are  to  lay  any  claim 
to  the  wholeness  of  being  to  which  I  have 
already  referred. 

The  importance  of  this  may  be  further  seen 
by  considering  the  influence  which  religion 
has  exerted  upon  all  human  life  and  history. 
Suppose  it  were  possible  to  eliminate  religion 
from  the  story  of  the  world,  what  would  you 
have  left?  No  matter  among  what  people  you 
examine  it,  no  matter  at  what  epoch ;  from 
the  lowest  savaQ^e  to  the  hiofhest  saee,  from 
the  darkest  barbarism  to  the  briorhtest  civili- 
zation,  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  we  find 
religion  summoning  men's  deepest  regard, 
and  most  profoundly  influencing  their  doings. 
To-day,  every  profession  is  brought  into  con- 
tact with  its  practical  working,  and  no  man 
can  rightly  interpret  the  past,  no  man  can 
rightly  treat  the  present,  unless  he  has  a  pro- 
found acquaintance  with  the  force  and  opera- 
tion of  this  spiritual  sphere.  This,  remember, 
is  only  fully  attained  by  the  study  and  culture 


l6  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

of  religion  in  the  retirement  and  experiences 
of  our  own  souls. 

The  part  which  religion  has  taken  in  the 
education  of  the  race  demands  attention,  as 
giving  further  illustration  to  my  argument. 
Not  infrequently  in  the  judgment  of  the 
superficial  critic,  religion  is  charged  with 
having  been  a  hindrance  to  human  progress, 
with  having  stifled  the  advance  of  the  mind, 
and,  oftentimes  indeed,  with  having  sought 
to  destroy  its  liberty.  This  is  the  common 
logical  fallacy  of  putting  the  universal  in  the 
place  of  the  particular.  Certain  forms  of 
religious  polity  have  been  chargeable  with 
such  conspiracy  against  human  light  and 
progress,  but  even  these  have  not  always 
hindered  culture,  and  then,  only,  when  they 
have  ceased  to  be  religious.  I  claim  for  reli- 
gion in  all  its  forms,  notwithstanding  the  su- 
perstitions by  which  it  has  been  corrupted,  the 
honor  of  having  more  than  aught  else  aided 
man  in  his  long  and  weary  pilgrimage ;  and 
for  religion  in  her  purer  forms,  the  simple 
sense  of  a  Divine  presence,  and  the  relation 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.       1/ 

which  man  bears  to  his  God — the  absolutely- 
sole  honor  of  raising  mankind,  freeing  the 
enslaved,  and  instructing  the  ignorant.  What 
has  been  the  force  which  stood  between  man 
and  the  basest  and  most  destructive  animal- 
isms of  his  nature,  now  centred  in  the  tyran- 
nical conqueror,  and  now  more  terribly  dis- 
seminated throuofhout  a  nation  or  a  race  ? 
What  has  been  the  prime  mover  of  every  war 
of  liberty,  of  every  philanthropic  project  which 
has  tended  to  freedom,  to  knowledge,  to  hap- 
piness ?  Wliat  has  been  at  one  time  the  sole 
custodian  of  knowledge,  and  the  sole  guar- 
dian of  the  wisdom  of  the  ages  ?  There  can 
be  only  one  answer,  and  that  is,  Religion  ; 
and  it  beine"  so,  no  man  dares  call  himself  a 
student,  a  seeker  for  knowledge,  a  learner 
and  a  disciple,  who  neglects  to  study  the 
relieious  instincts  and  sentiments  of  our  na- 
ture,  and  again  I  affirm,  these  can  only  be 
properly  studied  in  our  own  consciousness 
and  experience. 

Before  leaving  this  portion  of  my  subject  I 
should  like  to  call  your  attention  to  another 


1 8  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

point  of  consideration,  which  seems  to  pos- 
sess great  force.  Every  study,  in  the  present 
day,  furnishes  the  proof  that  reUgion  cannot 
be  easily  set  aside  by  those  who  are  engaged 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  mind. 

Have  you  never  observed  how  all  men  are 
dealing  with  religious  topics  ?  The  most 
striking  instance  is  to  be  found  in  the  modern 
teachers  of  science.  One  of  the  principles  of 
the  scientific  investigator  is  to  have  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  theological  or  religious 
subjects.  He  boldly  declares  that  metaphysi- 
cal and  ontological  questions  are  not  for  him 
to  discuss.  He  must  observe,  describe,  clas- 
sify, educe  laws,  but  all  questions  which 
deal  with  the  origin  of  the  universe,  by  the 
very  principles  of  his  science,  are  even  not  to 
be  approached.  Nay,  psychical  and  mental 
speculations  are  almost  tabooed.  But  what 
is  the  fact  ?  Scarcely  a  single  man  of  science 
of  any  repute  but  deals  with  these  all-absorb- 
ing points  of  human  thought,  and,  indeed, 
cannot  help  himself  His  very  negations,  his 
denials  of  the  appositeness  of  such  subjects 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.       1 9 

are  themselves  the  doors  by  which  they 
enter.  One  of  the  late  utterances  of  a  well- 
known  Society  for  the  promotion  of  science, 
rings  with  an  echo  of  religion  which  gave  it 
its  importance,  and  caused  the  world  to  stay 
its  gross  activities  of  business  or  pleasure 
to  hear  what  the  wise  could  tell.  The  last 
work  of  one  of  the  most  admired  teachers  of 
our  aofe,  notwithstandinof  that  he  had  been 
brought  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  absolute  in- 
difference to  all  and  every  religion,  was  his 
latest  thoughts  upon  this  all-absorbing  topic 
of  human  regard.  Believe  me,  fellow-stu- 
dents, man  has  a  religious  nature.  It  was  the 
breath  of  God  inbreathed  into  him  on  his 
natal  morn,  and  forget  it,  despise  it,  cast  it 
from  him  as  he  may,  it  will  come  up  and  as- 
sert itself — either  as  a  gracious  messenger  of 
mercy,  to  comfort  and  console  the  poor  heart, 
that  lost  its  blessedness  when  it  turned  away 
from  the  true  centre  of  its  being,  or  as  an 
avenging  spirit  to  confound,  to  alarm,  to 
overwhelm,  in  the  disastrous  and  the  dreary 
chaos,  which  the  soul  has  created  around  it- 


20  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

self,  when  it  refused  to   recognize  Him  who 
alone  is  order  and  light. 

I  have  somewhere  read  a  German  story  of 
a  man  who  sold  his  shadow  to  the  devil,  in  re- 
turn for  some  special  power  with  which  the 
devil  could  endow  him.      It  was  a  strange 
and  eerie  record  of  the  wonderful  adventures 
through  which  the  man  passed.     But  how  ter- 
rible became  the  life  which  had  ceased  to  bear 
with  it  the  natural  attendant  of  shade  !     Ter- 
ror and  loneliness,  the  flight  of  companions, 
and  the   outcasting  by  mankind — these  were 
the  horrible  results  of  the  shadowlessness  of 
his  life.     This  seems  to  me  to  be  the  fate  of 
some  who  regard  religion  as  a  shadow,  and 
sell  it  to  the  devil  of  self-trust,  of  arrogant,  in- 
tellectual pride.     They  call  religion  a  shadow, 
unsubstantial,    and    yet    gloomy    and    dark. 
They  forget  that  shadow   is   only  the  conse- 
quence of  light,   that  there   is   shadow   only 
when    the    sunlight    shines    upon    the    other 
side.     So  they,  as  the  shadowless  man  in  the 
fantastic    story,  become  monsters,  miserable 
and  inhuman,  who  must  leave  the  sunshine 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION    OF   INTELLECT.      21 

and  find  only  in  night  their  happiness   and 
rest. 

Religion  is  human.  It  is  that  which  differ- 
entiates us  from  the  brute.  You  cannot,  you 
dare  not,  neglect  it,  or  you  cease  to  be  all 
your  manhood  or  womanhood  may  be.  Well 
has  a  recent  sweet-voiced  poet  sung — 

"  My  soul  is  like  some  cage-born  bird,  that  hath 
A  restless  prescience,  howsoever  won, 
Of  a  broad  pathway  leading  to  the  sun, 
With  promptings  of  an  oft-reproved  faith 

*'  In  sunward  yearnings.    Stricken  though  her  breast, 
And  faint  her  wings  with  beating  at  the  bars 
Of  sense,  she  looks  beyond  outlying  stars, 
And  only  in  the  infinite  sees  rest. 

"  Sad  soul,  if  ever  thy  desire  be  bent 

Or  broken  to  thy  doom,  and  made  to  share 
The  ruminant's  beatitude,  content, 

Chewing  the  cud  of  knowledge  with  no  care, 
In  germs  of  life  within  ;  then  will  I  say 
Thou  art  not  caged^  but  fitly  stalled  in  clay." 

But  religion  is  not  only  to  be  regarded  as 
itself  an  object  of  study,  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten ;  it  is  also  an  influence  of  deep  and  far- 
reaching  power  over  the  rest  of  the  nature. 


22  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

This  has  been  Implied  in  what  has  been  al- 
ready said.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  give  this 
thought  a  more  distinct  and  definite  shape. 

The  student  cannot  do  his  work  as  a  com- 
mon man.  It  is  not  intended  by  this  to  decry 
the  labor  of  the  hand,  for  this  must  be  done  in 
a  certain  high  spirit,  if  it  is  to  be  any  other 
than  the  drudgery  of  the  slave  ;  but  there  is 
special  need,  in  the  cultivation  of  the  mind,  for 
the  man  to  set  before  himself  noble  models, 
and  to  pursue  his  work  on  no  low  level  of 
selfishness,  with  base  sensual  ends.  Intellec- 
tual cultivation  is,  as  a  rule,  associated  with 
moral  refinement.  There  is  nothing  so  dis- 
gusting as  the  corruptions  of  a  finely-trained 
mind.  Indeed,  if  there  be  anything  like  a 
wide  field  of  mental  culture,  united  with  moral 
degradation,  the  result  is  generally  diabolic. 
Satan  is  only  the  concrete  of  abstract  intellect 
divorced  from  conscience.  When  sensual  cor- 
ruption is  added,  the  result  is  not  diabolic  so 
much  as  brutal.  The  gross  sensual  nature 
overcomes  the  intellectual  powers,  and  sinks 
them  utterly  in  its  own  foul  mire.     For  the  sup- 


RELIGION— CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.       23 

port  of  morality  under  the  influence  of  great 
intellectual  advance,  the  religious  nature  is 
needful.  No  more  striking  instance  can  be 
appealed  to,  than  the  decay  of  the  French  na- 
tion under  the  influence  of  the  intellectual  athe- 
ism taught  by  Voltaire.  In  every  department 
of  human  life,  other  than  the  economic  (and 
this  has  been  conserved  in  those  classes  of 
French  society  least  affected  by  atheistic 
thought),  France  has  retrograded  in  relation 
to  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  and  she  can 
never  recover  her  proper  prestige,  her  due  in- 
fluence, until  she  has  recovered  a  deep  religi- 
ous spirit,  wide-spread  and  prevalent  through- 
out the  whole  nation.  What  is  true  of  the 
nation  is  still  more  true  of  the  individual.  The 
destruction  of  the  entire  character  may  be 
seen,  alas,  often  among  students.  This  will 
be  generally  found  to  be  preceded  by  neglect 
of  the  relio^ious  side  of  their  nature — faith 
undermined  either  by  the  operations  of  intel- 
lectual doubt,  or  else  still  more  seriously  as- 
sailed by  the  numbing  influences  of  sinful 
habits,  but  all  proceeding  in  the  first  instance 


24  SERMONS   TO    STUDENTS. 

from  the  neglect  of  practical  religion,  the  duties 
of  prayer  and  communion  with  the  Unseen. 

There  are,  however,  still  more  specific  in- 
fluences which  religion  exerts  upon  the  stu- 
dent. 

In  the  first  place,  It  renders  him  reverent. 
Nothinof  Is  so  unsuitable  to  the  man  who  de- 
sires  a  cultivated  mind  as  arrogance  and  self- 
esteem.  All  wisdom  is  humble.  Those,  who 
have  known  most,  have  been  most  conscious 
of  the  vast  stores  of  knowledge  which  lie  un- 
touched, of  the  mighty  spheres  of  being  into 
which  man  may  never  enter.  But  it  is  note- 
worthy that  the  converse  is  also  true,  that 
those  who  are  most  diffident  of  themselves 
are  those  to  whom  the  greatest  revelations  are 
made.  Men  have  to  become  as  little  children 
if  they  would  enter  the  kingdom  of  knowledge 
and  wisdom,  even  as  if  they  would  enter  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven.  Simplicity  of  mind, 
humbleness,  self-restraint,  all  the  beautiful  vir- 
tues of  the  soul  that  we  gather  up  in  the  term 
reverent,  which  means  so  much  on  the  nega- 
tive as  well  as  on  the  positive  side — these 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.       2$ 

must  belong  to  him  who  would  be  thoroughly 
furnished  in  mind  for  the  great  battles  of  life, 
and  the  outgoings  into  the  universe.  Rever- 
ence has  been  the  mark  of  the  profound  and 
patient  investigators  of  nature  in  all  ages. 
Reverence  is  the  glory  of  the  philosopher ;  it 
is   the   clear    liorht    of   heaven    which   shines 

o 

around  the  poet  who  '*  sits  by  the  side  of 
Jove." 

Now,  religion  and  its  duties  produce  rever- 
ence. The  religious  man  recognizes  the  con- 
stant presence  of  God.  The  world  to  him 
becomes  a  temple,  and  every  duty  is  a  sacri- 
fice. He  is  a  priest,  and  his  priestly  garments 
must  not  be  defiled ;  he  is  a  prophet,  and  his 
utterances  must  be  true.  His  soul  must  love 
truth,  and  know  truth  alone  as  its  food  and 
medicine.  All  objects  of  study  with  such  a 
man,  ascend  towards  God,  and  shine  in  the 
light  of  the  Divine  throne.  His  life  is  conse- 
cration, and  for  him  all  things  are  filled  with 
the  Divine.  This  reacts  upon  his  intellectual 
nature,  strengthening  and  disciplining  it.  The 
greatest  painters  of  the  world  were  accustomed 


26  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

to  prepare  for  their  labors  by  prayer  and  fast- 
ing. The  annals  of  study  bear  upon  their 
brightest  pages  the  records  of  the  most  devout 
and  reverent  of  earth's  sons. 

Another  element  of  the  studious  nature  is  the 
harmony  which  subsists  between  the  different 
powers  of  the  soul.  Man  cannot  gain  intel- 
lectual vigor  when  his  whole  being  is  torn 
asunder  by  conflicting  forces.  Outward  phy- 
sical quietness  is  the  usually  necessary  condi- 
tion of  study.  Inward  spiritual  peace  is  as 
needful.  Religion  will  give  this.  Nothing  in 
our  nature  so  tends  to  preserve  the  balance 
and  equipoise  of  the  whole.  Right  views  and 
right  practice  here,  will  tone  down  all  that  is 
excessive,  stimulate  all  that  is  weak.  Coming 
into  proper  relation  to  God,  we  find  every- 
thing else  in  its  place.  Man's  original  state 
was  one  of  harmony  and  concord.  Sin  against 
God  introduced  the  terrible  anarchy  and  con- 
fusion which  everywhere  reign.  To  return  to 
God  is  to  return  to  the  balance  of  our  life. 
All  things,  then,  drop  into  due  proportion,  and 
the  all-dominant  force  of  religion  obeyed  and 


RELIGION — CULTIVATION   OF   INTELLECT.      2/ 

cherished,  will  at  once  strengthen  and  yet  dis- 
cipline the  whole.  A  man  thus  ordered  can 
pursue  his  mental  training  without  distraction. 
The  senses  cannot  draw  him  into  sensuality 
and  sloth.  The  mental  powers  themselves 
cannot  assert  too  great  an  authority.  Con- 
science sits  happily  enthroned.  And  he  can 
well  say,  **  My  mind  to  me  a  kingdom  is,"  a 
kingdom,  indeed,  where  there  is  rank  and  or- 
der, due  subordination,  true  authority,  prompt 
obedience,  and  over  which  there  ever  shines 
the  approving  countenance  of  God,  at  once 
the  stay,  the  defence,  and  the  glory  of  this 
noble  realm. 

And  how  is  this  religious  life  sustained,  ex- 
cept by  the  knowledge  of  Him  who  is  the  ex- 
press image  of  the  Father,  and  the  shining 
ray  of  the  central  light  of  God  ?  To  the  stu- 
dent especially  does  Christ  appeal.  His  re- 
liofion  is  the   religion   of  intellio^ence.     He  is 

o  o  o 

THE  Word.  We  are  to  know  Him,  and 
through  Him  to  know  God.  The  rule  of  His 
greatest  apostle  is  to  ''  prove  all  things,  and 
hold  fast  what  is  good."     He  asks   no  alle- 


28  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

glance  from  a  mind  obscured  by  superstition, 
and  bound  down  by  unmeaning  rites.  If  it 
be  the  student's  highest  aim  to  seek  to  know 
things  as  they  are,  and  to  rise  above  the  mere 
seeming  of  sense  into  the  world  of  pure  ideas 
and  right  reason,  then,  indeed,  he  cannot  find 
a  better  Teacher,  a  more  trusty  Saviour,  than 
in  that  incarnate  Word  of  God,  whose  utter- 
ance upon  reHgion,  the  profoundest  which  has 
ever  been  given  to  man,  was  this — "  God  is  a 
spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  wor- 
ship Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 


THE   STUDY   OF  SCIENCE. 


Daniel  I.,  4. — "  Skilful  in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in 
knowledge,  and  understanding  science." 


II. 

THE  STUDY  OF  SCIENCE. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  the 
human  mind  so  remarkable  as  the  progress 
which  physical  science  has  made  in  modern 
times.  It  is  true  that  there  have  been  physi- 
cal investigators  in  every  age,  and  two  thou- 
sand years  ago  some  of  the  problems  of 
science,  still  unsolved,  were  discussed  with 
peculiar  clearness  of  vision  and  suggestive- 
ness ;  nevertheless,  we  may  almost  fix  upon 
the  present  century  as  being  emphatically  the 
age  of  natural  science,  in  the  course  of  which, 
geology,  chemistry,  and  physics,  at  least,  have 
been  most  industriously  pursued  and  marvel- 
lously developed.  In  former  days  the  man  of 
science  was  a  kind  of  exception  to  the  general 
run  of  even  cultured  people.  A  dabbling  of 
the  shallowest  kind  in  a  few  principles  and  a 
few  experiments  was  considered  sufficient  to 


32  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

establish  a  reputation  for  scientific  knowledge, 
while  the  study  of  natural  science  was  left 
altogether  to  the  members  of  the  learned  so- 
cieties, whose  deliberations  were  considered 
by  the  general  public  to  be  a  jargon  of  tech- 
nicalities and  difficult  words  of  little  interest, 
and  certainly  of  no  worth.  But  a  change  has 
come  over  the  relation  of  science  to  general 
life  within  even  our  own  time.  Some,  now 
departed,  whose  memories  are  our  constant 
pride  and  inspiration,  and  some  who  still 
breathe,  and  stir  us  with  their  genius  and  elo- 
quence, have  made  science  popular  and  its 
study  wide-spread.  Governments  in  all  na- 
tions recognize  it  in  the  schools  which  they 
aid  to  found.  The  universities  give  it  a 
place  in  their  curriculum.  The  addresses  of 
its  leaders  are  reported  in  daily  papers,  and 
become  the  chief  topics  of  conversation  in 
every  thoughtful  circle.  Science  has  thus 
won  almost  the  chief  place  in  the  intellectual 
pursuits  of  the  age,  and  promises  to  assert 
her  sway  over  every  sphere  of  human  life. 
In  the  outset,  I  deprecate  the  unsatisfactory 


THE  STUDY   OF  SCIENCE.  33 

relationship  which  has  too  often  existed  be- 
tween the  expounders  of  rehgion  and  the 
teachers  of  science  ;  and  I  desire  distinctly  to 
warn  students  that  there  need  not  be  any 
unworthy  jealousy  or  prejudice  in  respect 
of  either  position.  That  there  are  some 
forms  of  relieious  belief  which  can  never  be 
squared  with  some  forms  of  scientific  belief 
must  be  freely  admitted.  But  this  only  miH- 
tates  against  that  ^  special  form  of  so-called 
religion  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  special 
form  of  so-called  science  on  the  other.  But 
this  does  not  imply  that  science  and  reli- 
gion are  finally  and  necessarily  antagonistic ; 
that  there  cannot  be  even  in  the  fulness  of 
knowledge,  and  in  the  perfectness  of  faith,  any 
point,  where  science  and  religion  run  together, 
and  are  found  indeed  but  one  ;  neither  does  it 
compel  the  man  Avho  is  travelling  along  the 
scientific  line  which  leads  to  this  perfect 
knowledge,  and  his  fellow-man  who  is  travel- 
ling along  the  religious  line  which  leads  to 
perfect  faith,  to  be  enemies  rather  than  bro- 
thers,   to   attack   each   other's   work,    and   to 

2* 


34  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

despise  each  other's  aim.  The  fact  is,  the 
dogmatism  of  some  reHgious  men,  like  the 
dogmatism  of  some  scientific  men,  is  neither 
scientific  nor  reHgious.  It  wants  the  grace 
which  should  belong  to  the  truth,  wherever 
that  truth  is  found,  whithersoever  that  truth 
may  be  leading.  I  am  quite  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge that  many  religious  teachers  have 
spoken  even  irreligiously  in  this  respect ;  but 
then,  is  it  quite  certain  that  the  scientific 
teacher  on  the  other  side  has  been  always 
true  to  the  principles  of  the  science  which  he 
upholds  ?  The  first  care,  therefore,  that  the 
student  must  have,  is  not  to  mistake  the 
bigotry  of  religious  persons  for  the  voice  of 
true  religion,  and  at  the  same  time  not  to 
accept  as  the  conclusions  of  an  undoubted 
science,  the  merely  hypothetical  assumptions 
even  of  the  profoundest  physicists. 

From  one  point  of  view,  religion  and  science 
are  altogether  separate  spheres,  with  differ- 
ent objects,  and  with  differing  methods.  Of 
course  science  may  be  pursued,  and  indeed 
is    only    properly    pursued,    in   a  profoundly 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  35 

religious  spirit,  and  with  deeply  religious 
aims,  while  religion  may  be  studied  in  a 
scientific  manner  and  dealt  with  as  any  other 
subject  of  human  thought  and  meditation. 
But  as  the  terms  are  generally  used,  the  sep- 
aration between  them  is  clear  and  distinct. 
Physical  science  consists  in  the  observation, 
description,  and  classification  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  the  material  universe,  with  the  dis- 
covery of  the  laws  which  govern  all  material 
changes  ;  and  although  the  energies  of  the 
physicist  sometimes  carry  him  into  other 
regions  of  knowledge,  he  goes  generally  at  the 
peril  of  the  principles  which  have  governed 
him  as  a  scientific  man,  and,  on  the  whole, 
I  think,  with  serious  injury  to  his  reputation, 
and  with  little,  if  any,  gain  in  those  spheres 
which  lie  beyond  his  own  immediate  province. 
As  an  expounder  of  the  laws  of  the  material 
forces,  I  recognize  his  authority,  and  gladly 
seat  myself  at  his  feet ;  but  when  he  applies 
the  same  principles  of  investigation  to  the 
phenomena  of  the  human  mind,  and  especially 
to    theological  and    cosmogonical    questions, 


36  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

he  appears  to  me  to  be  untrue  to  himself, 
and  to  exhibit  himself  as  one  of  the  great 
blunderers  of  the  world.  It  is  precisely  the 
same  with  him  who  ventures  out  of  the  re- 
gion of  philosophy  and  theology  into  that  of 
science,  without  donning  the  garments  of  the 
scientist — using  only  the  principles  which 
have  hitherto  guided  him.  You  cannot  learn 
the  laws  of  matter  from  the  necessary  con- 
ditions of  the  operations  of  mind.  You  can- 
not teach  science  by  the  exposition  of  the 
Bible.  And  He  who  has  revealed  Himself 
in  all  ages  to  mankind  so  that  they  may  know 
Him,  and  love  Him,  and  serve  Him,  has  yet 
left  man  to  use  his  own  reason  and  the  powers 
with  which  God  has  endowed  him,  in  the 
observation  of  nature  and  the  determination 
of  her  laws. 

This  will,  undoubtedly,  present  to  the  sci- 
ence student,  some  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
of  his  course.  Where  so  many  great  and 
wise  men  have  stumbled,  how  can  he  expect 
to  walk  without  tripping  ?  But,  at  least,  he 
can  learn  to  avoid  the  errors  into  which  they 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  3/ 

have  fallen.  If  he  must  leave  the  secure  way 
of  science  and  wander  into  the  tempting  paths 
of  speculation,  let  him  do  it  at  his  own  risk, 
and  after  clear  warning.  Do  not  expect  that 
men  will  listen  with  deference  to  your  utter- 
ances when  you  have  abandoned  your  prin- 
ciples, and  speak  with  all  the  certainty  of 
science,  in  the  midst  of  the  doubtfulness  of 
pure  speculation.  Indeed,  the  charge  of 
flippancy  and  shallowness  may  be  hurled 
against  you,  if  you  meddle  without  experi- 
ence and  skill  in  those  branches  In  which  sci- 
ence has  no  record,  and  where  she  leaves  you 
without  her  law.  So,  also,  your  success  in 
scientific  study  will  depend  upon  your  strict- 
est adherence  to  the  principles  which  govern 
it.  You  must  be  the  patient  watcher  for  the 
changes  of  nature.  For  you,  not  a  single  step 
is  safe  unless  it  pass  along  the  sure  highway 
of  observation  and  experience.  You  must 
test  your  laws  by  experiment,  and  although 
the  wonderful  insight,  which  seems  almost 
creative  in  its  force  and  action,  may  take  you 
from  a  single  example  to  a  wide  generaliza- 


38  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

tion,  be  certain  always  that  you  have  the  fact, 
and  are  not  merely  dealing  with  the  creation 
of  your  restless  fancy. 

And  yet  in  all  this  you  may  be  profoundly 
religious.  A  certain  enthusiasm  of  heart,  and 
a  deep  moral  purpose  are  as  needful  for  true 
advance  in  science  as  the  clear  light  of  the 
understanding  itself  One  of  the  most  elo- 
quent of  modern  physicists  has  freely  recog- 
nized, (and  I  think  gross  injustice  has  been 
done  him  in  the  fact  that  this  recognition  on 
his  part  has  not  received  from  us  its  proper 
estimate)  that  over  and  above  man's  under- 
standing ''  there  are  many  other  things 
appertaining  to  man  whose  prescriptive  rights 
are  quite  as  strong  as  that  of  the  understand- 
ing itself,"  and  these  have  their  place  and 
exercise  their  influence.  Awe,  Reverence, 
and  Wonder,  Poetry  and  Art,  the  Beautiful 
and  the  Good  and  the  Religious,  all  belong 
to  this  manifold  human  nature,  and  must  have 
their  freedom  and  do  their  work.  The  un- 
derstanding, without  these,  would  die  of  inani- 
tion, as  these,  without  reason,  would  consume 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  39 

themselves  and  be  destroyed.  Hence  must 
you  preserve  a  due  measure  and  balance  of 
your  being,  giving  to  all  your  powers  their 
fullest  scope,  and  recognizing  the  laws  which 
must  govern  each  and  all. 

The  question  here  naturally  occurs,  May 
the  study  of  science  afford  illustrations,  en- 
forcements, helps  to  a  religious  life  ?  I  boldly 
answer,  Yes  !  In  the  first  place,  both  re- 
ligion and  science  rest  upon  truth.  Science 
deals  with  truth,  and  with  nothing  else,  and 
is  only  the  human  knowledge  of  truth,  gained 
by  the  exercise  of  the  human  understanding 
and  reason.  But  religion,  at  least  any  re- 
ligion worthy  of  the  name,  is  also  dependent 
upon  truth.  Some  men  appear  to  teach  a 
religion  and  to  rejoice  in  one  that  may 
chance  to  be  altogether  founded  upon  false- 
hood— the  religion  of  pretence,  chicanery, 
and  mere  seeming.  But  of  such  religion  I 
do  not  speak  to-day.  Such  religion  is  not 
that  of  Christ.  Such  religion  cannot  be 
gained  by  the  wise  and  fair  student  of  the 
Word  of  God.     The  Bible  is  one  lonof  testi- 


40  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

mony  to  truth  and  righteousness.  It  is  the 
record  of  God's  leading  men  to  what  is  right, 
and  doubtless  through  much  that  is  perplexing, 
oftentimes  in  their  failure  and  mistake ;  but 
everywhere  the  witness  for  truth  is  clear  and 
distinct.  God  is  ever  seen,  restoring  the  err- 
ing, teaching  the  ignorant,  even  overruling, 
and,  if  need  be,  striking  down  the  base,  the 
wicked,  and  the  liar.  What  is  the  psalm,  but 
the  holy  breathing  after  goodness  and  truth  ? 
In  the  wildest  utterance  of  ecstacy,  in  the 
sometimes  burning  hatred  of  individually  or 
nationally  felt  wrong,  still  the  all-triumphant 
faith  in  God  is,  that  He  is  the  True  one  and 
the  Good  one,  and  will  establish  truth  and 
justify  the  good.  The  prophets  only  point  to 
this  all-dominant  law  of  righteousness,  and 
appeal  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  declare 
their  faith  in  Him  who  will  establish  His 
kingdom  and  rule  in  equity  and  justice.  And 
what  is  the  grandest  revelation  of  all  but  the 
Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life?  Truth  was 
the  constant  theme  of  His  discourses.  He 
was  the  witness  to  the  truth,  and  died  in  His 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  41 

great  testimony.  And  on  that  grave,  empty 
through  His  victory,  there  has  been  built  the 
glorious  edifice  of  the  truth  of  God.  In- 
deed, some  of  the  builders  that  have  labored 
there,  may  have  sought  to  lay  the  lines  of  its 
masonry  in  falsehood  and  deception ;  but 
God  Himself  has  sent  the  trial  and  the  proof, 
and  ever  burns  out  from  His  growing  temple 
the  hay  and  stubble  with  which  men  would 
have  set  up  a  lie.  It  is  truth,  then,  which  re. 
ligion  recognizes.  It  is  truth  which  science 
seeks.  They  cannot  be  irreconcilable,  and 
finally  they  must  be  one. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  will 
greatly  help  in  the  good  understanding  to 
which  the  scientific  student  may  come  with 
the  religious  man,  and  which,  indeed,  shall 
enable  the  devout  to  be  scientific,  and  the 
scientific  to  be  devout.  It  is  the  recognition 
of  the  fact,  that  no  finality  of  conception  has 
been  reached  in  either  sphere.  So  rapidly  do 
we  pass  from  discovery  to  discovery,  that  we 
are  unable  to  see  how  imperfect  our  con- 
ceptions really  are,  and  how  much  one  great 


42  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

law  is  a  development  from  that  which  pre- 
ceded it,  and  more  or  less  renders  the  former 
to  be  in  a  sense  incorrect,  or  at  least  incom- 
plete. The  very  principles  of  some  of  our 
sciences  have  been  reversed  within  a  few 
years.  No  man  will  undertake  to  maintain 
that  his  scientific  conception  of  the  universe 
may  not  receive — indeed,  will  not  receive — 
great  modifications,  as  the  ever-extending 
glory  of  the  world  opens  before  the  human 
mind.  Dogmatism  is,  therefore,  impertinent 
as  well  as  unphilosophical.  '' Thus  we  see 
it,  "  is  the  language  of  the  wise,  the  humble 
man.  ''  Thus  it  is,  "  is  only  the  vain  boast  of 
the  empty  fool. 

And  so  is  it  in  religion.  Men's  conceptions 
are  ever  changing,  growing  in  their  sweet- 
ness, in  their  scope.  The  finality  of  Revela- 
tion can  be  held  only  by  that  Church  which 
itself  has  come  to  the  end  of  all  intellectual 
and  moral  life.  So  long  as  God  has  loving 
souls  upon  the  earth  to  worship  and  to  love 
Him,  so  long  will  He  ever  open  before  them 
wider  displays  of  His  nature  and   His  work. 


THE   STUDY   OF  SCIENCE.  43 

In  the  one  subject  of  criticism  of  the  Book, 
we  have  only  begun  to  study  and  to  learn. 
The  interpretation  of  the  Bible  is  itself,  a  mat- 
ter for  each  age,  and  grows  in  fulness  and 
depth  as  each  age  brings  its  learning,  its 
piety,  its  devotion.  That  great  truth  of  the 
Divine  Fatherhood,  the  very  centre  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  now  only,  begin- 
ning to  take  hold  of  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  Christian  Church,  and  who  can  tell  what 
rich  truths  of  the  Divine  nature  and  the  work 
of  our  Lord,  the  future  will  not  yet  reveal  ? 
It  was  the  glorious  utterance  of  the  pastor  of 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  that  God  had  ''yet  much 
light  to  flash  forth  from  His  Word."  And 
what  are  we,  brethren,  that  we  should  sup- 
pose ourselves  to  have  learned  all,  and  to 
have  exhausted  the  fulness  of  that  Eternal 
Spirit  ?  Oh,  then,  ye  wrangling  theologians 
and  physicists,  stay  your  contentions  !  You 
are  men,  toiling  up  the  same  great  mountain 
height,  but  on  different  sides.  ''  A  preci- 
pice," cries  the  one  party.  ''  Nay,"  answers 
back  in  angry  tones  the  other,  *'  'tis  a  pleas- 


44  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

ant  slope  and  a  fertile  valley."  A  '*  river," 
shout  these  in  return,  **  and  over  it  a  bright 
sunshine."  Back  comes  the  reply  with 
rude  and  scornful  laughter,  *'  'Tis  a  mountain 
tarn,  dark  and  cold,  and  deep,  and  over  it  are 
resting  only  the  skirts  of  the  storm,  now  and 
then  perhaps  lifted  for  an  instant  by  the  driv- 
ing wind."  ''  Peace,  ye  mountain  climbers," 
seems  to  speak  a  Voice  from  the  summit. 
'*  Ye  are  on  different  sides ;  but  with  pa- 
tience, and  quiet  toil,  and  rather  cheerful 
encouragement  to  each  other,  at  last,  per- 
chance in  the  far  distant  ages,  perhaps 
even  in  that  other  condition  to  be  attained 
only  by  the  transfiguring  of  death,  ye  shall 
all  stand  upon  the  mountain,  and  Avith  Me 
gaze  at  the  whole  scene  beneath  you,  and 
know  with  perfect  knowledge,  and  see  with 
the  vision  of  the  immortals." 

But,  it  may  be  asked  whether  the  study  of 
science  is  to  be  pursued  without  any  religious 
thoughts  beinor  associated  with  it  ?  Cer- 
tainly  not.  If  the  religious  man  devotes  him- 
self to  the  pursuit  of  nature  he  will,  assuredly, 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.       '  45 

find  therein  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
his  rehgious  faculties,  and  illustrations  of  the 
goodness  and  glory  of  God.  To  search  into 
physics  by  means  of  theological  or  moral 
principles  is  the  method  of  a  past  and  ignor- 
ant age.  But  to  search  into  physics  with 
only  atheism  as  the  spirit  of  the  search,  is  to 
rush  into  a  superstition  as  gross  and  as 
deadly  as  before.  The  review  of  causes  may 
not  include  the  first  or  the  final  cause,  but  he 
will  be  indeed  purblind  who  cannot  recognize 
a  God  in  nature,  and  control  all  his  study  of 
her  various  ways  by  the  sense  of  the  obliga- 
tion which  he  owes  to  Him.  If  this  were  not 
so,  he  who  utterly  denies  the  being  of  God 
would  be  the  best  student  of  the  natural 
world,  and  this  has  by  no  means  been  illus- 
trated in  experience  and  history.  Some  of 
the  most  earnest,  the  most  gifted  physicists, 
have  been  most  religious  men ;  and  even 
those  who,  ceasing  to  be  strictly  scientific, 
are  yet  doubtful  as  to  the  issue  of  the  philoso- 
phy which  they  apply  to  the  problem  of  ex- 
istence and  life,  are  still  unwilling  to    relin- 


46  *       SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

quish  the  quest  for  a  personal  all-governing" 
God,  and  in  their  best  moments  when  reason 
is  clearest,  and  their  powers  most  vigorous, 
cheerfully  acknowledge  that  the  system  which 
absolutely  excludes  the  Eternal  One  has  little 
claim  upon  their  understanding,  their  imagi- 
nation, their  conscience,  and  their  heart. 

This  aspect  of  the  question  may  be  illustra- 
trated  by  a  reference  to  some  other  of  those 
spheres  of  human  nature  which  are  not  alto- 
gether covered  by  the  understanding.  There 
is,  for  example,  the  sense  of  the  beautiful. 
Now  this  in  pure  science  can  have  no  place, 
and  in  the  investigation  of  the  physicist  must 
be  utterly  and  rigorously  excluded.  But  it 
would  be  a  lame  science  which  destroyed  the 
feeling  of  the  beautiful,  although  this  may  be- 
long specially  to  the  artist  and  the  poet.  No 
men,  perhaps,  have  a  keener  sense  of  the 
beauty  of  natural  objects  than  those  who  gaze 
upon  them  with  the  insight  of  true  knowledge 
— understanding  their  causes  and  seeing  the 
one  grand  law  which  embraces  all  within  its 
certainty.     Shall  the  physicist  shut  his   eye 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  4/ 

to  these  beauties  of  the  world?  Shall  lie 
know  nothing  of  form  and  color,  of  sweep  of 
outline,  perfection  of  figure,  balance,  harmony 
and  grace  ?  Must  he  close  his  ears  to  the 
mighty  music  of  the  worlds  ?  Can  he  never 
allow  the  soft  sense  of  nature's  fulness  to  rest 
upon  his  spirit  like  the  touch  of  the  caressing 
mother  upon  the  head  of  the  child  she  bears, 
and  will  no  soft  light  from  her  unutterable 
sweetness  shine  upon  his  heart  and  make  him 
glad  with  the  gladness  that  is  all  her  own  ? 
Surely  not.  There  is  a  rapture  in  some  of 
the  communions  which  the  physicist  holds 
with  nature  that  passeth  the  highest  delight 
of  feast  and  mirthful  bravery. 

Morals,  too,  may  find  some  place  in  the 
recognition  of  our  student.  It  is  not  for  him 
to  seek  facts  and  their  relations,  in  order  that 
he  may  find  the  law  of  right  illustrated,  that 
he  may  gather  some  new  sanction  for  the 
eternal  verities  of  goodness,  purity,  and  jus- 
tice. But  I  mistake  much  the  spirit  of  mod- 
ern science  if  it  has  no  regard  for  conscience, 
and   for   the   environment   of    righteousness 


48  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

which  the  wise  man  everywhere  joyfully  ac- 
cepts. The  very  order  and  harmony,  the 
*'  adjustment  of  internal  and  external  rela- 
tions," which  the  subtler  minds  of  the  day  are 
perceiving"  in  all  things — these  must  bring 
with  theih  the  sense  of  that  higher  order  and 
harmony,  by  which  all  natures  have  been 
bound,  that  law  which  gathers  into  its  safe 
keeping  the  lowly  monad,  which  rolls  its 
thunder  of  condemnation,  or  sings  its  song  of 
approval  in  the  human  heart,  and  finds  its 
highest  seat  in  the  bosom  of  God  Himself 

So  is  it  with  the  principle  of  religion.  The 
man  of  science  will  not  gain  his  highest  pur- 
pose if  he  seek  in  the  subject  of  his  learning 
to  find  the  supreme  God ;  but  we  are  sadly 
out  in  our  estimate  of  the  best  expounders  of 
nature  if  they  have  not,  even  on  the  merely 
scientific  ground,  an  undefined,  perhaps  a 
hidden  sense,  that  Some  One  has  moved 
along  the  lines  of  life  and  being,  and  has  left, 
if  indeed  the  faintest  footprints,  yet  the  foot- 
prints of  His  going.  And  surely  he  who  has 
the  sense  of  God's  presence  within  his  soul, 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  49 

who  has  heard  His  voice  in  conscience,  and 
has  seen  Him  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
may  go  along  the  pathways  of  his  study, 
now,  not  only  with  understanding,  not  only 
with  a  troop  of  laws  of  causation,  conse- 
quence, and  evolution,  but  with  another  atten- 
dant— fair-robed  Faith  ;  and  she  will  point  to 
all  the  scenes,  once  only  scenes  of  order,  state- 
ly edifices  of  material  building,  and  lo  !  in 
every  passage,  hall,  and  chamber,  the  devout 
man  will  find  a  presence,  will  hear  a  tender 
voice,  will  feel  a  touch  of  love,  and  recoofnize 
a  Father.  Now,  the  world  is  a  home,  and  he 
a  child,  heir  of  its  glory  and  joyous  in  its  bless- 
edness. Now,  between  the  lines  of  the  great 
formulae  which  describe  the  sweep  of  star  and 
sun,  he  can  read  also  written,  '*The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God  and  the  firmament 
showeth  His  Handiwork."  The  flowers  may 
open  their  petals  and  disclose  the  wonderful 
selections  which  nature  has  made,  fitting 
them  for  their  place,  for  the  visiting  of  the 
insect,  and  the  distribution  of  their  seed. 
But  he  will  also  hear  the  words   which  their 

3 


50  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

odor  seems  to  breathe  :  ''  Consider  the  HUes 
of  the  field  how  they  grow,  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin,  yet  I  say  unto  you  that 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these.  God  so  clothed 
the  grass  of  the  field."  The  birds  will  still 
reveal  to  him  the  steps  of  being  and  the  care- 
ful adjustment  of  element  and  life,  but  he 
will  see  inscribed  in  golden  letters  round  the 
pages  of  the  very  record  of  the  wise  and 
careful  observer,  the  tender  utterance  for  the 
humble  sparrow :  ''  And  one  of  them  shall 
not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father." 
Then  gathering  all  his  knowledge  he  will 
raise  it  into  a  glorious  song,  and  cry  as  he 
remembers  God's  love  for  himself:  "  When  I 
consider  the  heavens  the  work  of  Thy 
fingers,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  Thou 
hast  ordained,  what  is  man,  that  Thou  art 
mindful  of  him  ?  or  the  son  of  man,  that 
Thou  visitest  him  ?  O  Lord  our  Lord,  how 
excellent  is  Thy  Name  in  all  the  earth." 

Some    persons    of     religious    nature    and 
habits,  view  with  considerable  alarm,  the  ad- 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  5 1 

vance  of  science  in  our  day.  They  seem  to 
think  that  the  throne  of  God  is  beine  under- 
mined,  and  that  the  end  of  this  progress  will 
be  to  ''  bow  the  Supreme  Being-  out  of  His 
universe."  There  is  somewhere  a  foolish  say- 
ing that  Newton,  by  his  discovery  of  the  law 
of  gravitation,  ''  had  banished  God  from  the 
solar  system,"  and  there  are  religious  people 
equally  foolish  who  have  a  kind  of  half  dread 
that  this  irreverent  sentiment  has  some 
truth  in  it.  The  first  and  prime  necessity  for 
a  religion  worth  holding  is  that  it  should  be 
true  ;  and  if  science  help  to  purge  away  the 
untruths  which  have  gathered  around  even 
the  true  faith,  we  need  only  rejoice  and  re- 
cognize in  her  a  trusty  handmaid  of  God. 
But,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  results  of  science 
have  altogether  tended  to  the  establishment 
of  religion  more  firmly  in  the  heart  of  every 
wise  and  good  man  ;  and  even  the  specula- 
tions which  in  some  cases  issue  in  the  wildest 
hypotheses,  only  more  clearly  bring  out  the 
existence  and  the  attributes  of  God.  What 
science  may  do  with  ecclesiastical  religion  I 


52  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

have  no  very  great  care,  and  even  the  rela- 
tion of  science  to  theology  appears  only  to 
promise  the  purification  of  the  latter  study 
from  the  dominance  of  the  schools,  and  the 
mere  tyranny  of  custom.  But  to  religion,  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  science  brings  only 
welcome  aid.  The  order  of  nature,  which 
has  been  so  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  ever- 
widenine  ranee  which  is  discovered  for  law, 
and  the  economy  of  nature,  which  in  the  con- 
servation of  forces  has  been  illustrated  of  late 
on  every  side,  furnish  remarkable  analogies 
for  the  great  truths  of  the  unity  of  the  God- 
head, and  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  form  the  leading  principles  of  the 
Christian  verity.  What  does  science  teach 
us  in  ever  new  and  ever  widening  spheres  ? 
Simply  the  persistence  of  law,  the  inflexibility 
of  causation,  the  unchangeableness  of  result 
in  the  oriven  unchans^eableness  of  conditions. 
Interpret  this  in  respect  of  moral  and  spiritual 
things,  and  what  have  we — (here  we  enter 
upon  the  domain  of  the  metaphysician  and 
the  theologian) — but   the  one    eternal   omni- 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  53 

present  intelligence  and  will — (will,  I  say, 
necessarily,  for  to  stop  at  force,  is  to  read  the 
enigma  of  the  universe  one  step  behind  that 
at  which  we  have  arrived  in  reading  the 
enigma  of  the  world  of  consciousness) — ever 
the  same;  ever,  therefore,  true,  right,  highest, 
utterly  to  be  trusted,  never  deceiving,  never 
failing,  never  changeable.  I  rejoice,  as  I  be- 
hold the  magnificent  order  of  the  universe 
rise  before  me  at  the  bidding  of  some  almost 
magician  of  this  late-born  child  of  reason  ; 
wonder  yields  to  delight,  and  delight  swells 
into  completest  confidence.  Did  I  ever  in 
evil  hour,  doubt  the  power,  and  the  wisdom, 
and  the  love  ?  In  hideous  dreams,  have  I 
ever  seen  vile  phantoms  of  evil,  who  seemed 
to  thwart  the  course  of  goodness,  and  to  mock 
at  right  and  truth  ?  Have  I  ever  listened  to 
the  base  promptings  of  my  lower  soul,  and 
for  an  instant,  thought  that  life  was  only  the 
battle-scene  of  an  eternal  evil  contending 
with  eternal  good  ?  Have  I  ever  conceived  of 
chance  and  fortune,  of  hazard,  or  even  devil- 
crossings  of  the  will  of  God  ?     Then,  may  I 


54  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

for  an  hour,  quit  the  companionship  of  holy 
men  of  old  when  they  have  spoken  some  sad, 
desponding  words,  and  learning  that  there  is 
an  eternal  order,  come  back  to  understand 
better  their  broken  cries  and  their  mysterious 
musings,  and  to  find  that  knowledge,  learnt 
to-day,  has  joined  with  faith  that  triumphed 
ages  back,  and  still  proclaims  that  God  rules 
in  the  heavens  and  governs  upon  earth, 
taking  perhaps  a  still  sweeter  echo  in  the 
words,  ''  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever." 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  that  grand  force 
of  redemptive  grace  which  has  set  going  a 
new  spiritual  life  to  act  and  react  until  the 
universe  is  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God  ? 
*'  Nothing  is  lost,"  science  tells  me.  Nature 
conserves  all,  will  not,  cannot  allow  aught  to 
slip  away  and  pass  into  nothingness.  Is  it 
mere  poetry,  my  friends,  when  I  read  these 
words,  and  follow  with  an  almost  bursting 
heart  the  exhibition  of  this  great  conserving 
law,  that  I  am  irresistibly  reminded  of  Him 
who  ''  came  to  seek  and  to  save   what  was 


THE   STUDY   OF   SCIENCE.  55 

lost,  "of  Him  who  ''willeth  not  the  death  of 
the  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should  turn 
from  his  error  and  live  "  ;  of  Him  to  whom 
all  things  shall  be  subdued,  ''when  the  Son 
Himself  shall  be  subject  unto  Him  that  put 
all  under  Him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all." 

There  are  two  points  to  which  I  desire  to 
refer  as  I  close. 

The  first  relates  to  the  care,  which  the 
scientific  student  must  observe,  when  he 
transfers  his  attention  from  the  objects  of  his 
proper  pursuit  to  other  occupations.  It  has 
not  been  helpful  to  the  psychology  of  this 
generation,  that  so  many  of  those  who  have 
endeavored  to  expound  it,  have  approached  it 
with  the  spirit  and  almost  with  the  method 
with  which  they  conducted  their  researches 
into  nature.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the 
physiological  study  of  mind  has  been  really 
helpful  to  mental  science.  Though  fully  grant- 
ing the  concomitance  of  the  brain  in  all  men- 
tal  operations,  we  have  yet  to  learn  that  the 
fullest  knowledge  of  brain-conditions  even 
suggests  the  mode  of  discussing  phenomena 


56  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

of  consciousness.  Indeed,  in  the  moral  scien- 
ces, generally,  the  physicist  seems  to  me  to 
be  sadly  at  fault.  He  seizes  an  opinion  as 
readily  as  the  most  fanciful  philosopher,  and 
adds  to  the  merely  hypothetical  character  of 
his  opinion,  the  more  serious  evil  of  dealing 
with  it  as  if  it  were  a  physical  law,  seen  in 
many  instances,  the  result  of  careful  induc- 
tion, tested  by  proved  experiment.  As  an 
acute  writer  has  lately  observed,  *'  Living  in 
and  breathing  the  pure  atmosphere  of  physi- 
cal science  is  by  no  means  a  good  school  of 
discipline  in  the  estimate  of  moral  probabili- 
ties. Physical  science  has  superstitions  of  its 
own,  just  as  much  as  wonder  or  fear."  How 
much  these  remarks  will  apply  to  the  discussion 
of  religion  I  may  leave  each  of  you  to  deter- 
mine for  yourselves.  When  you  have  entered 
into  this  sphere  of  research  your  subject-mat- 
ter and  your  methods  have  alike  changed. 

Finally,  be  careful  that  you  do  not  forget  in 
science  that  you  have  human  duties ;  that 
knowledge  is,  after  all,  not  the  supreme  object 
of  man's  life ;  that,  indeed,  all  knowledge  is 


THE   STUDY   OF  SCIENCE.  5/ 

but  the  means  to  that  nobility  of  living  which 
we  gather  up  in  the  word  service.  It  is  the 
fashion  to  spurn  and  contemn  the  practical 
applications  of  scientific  discovery ;  but  the 
best  souls  will  always  regard  the  issue  of  all 
they  know  in  the  welfare  of  their  fellow-men. 
It  is,  perhaps,  to  be  feared  that  of  late  the 
tendency  of  science  has  been  to  go  off  into 
speculations  upon  problems  that  are,  for  the 
most  part,  insoluble.  Natural  science  de- 
spises the  inanities,  the  verbal  frivolities  of 
ihe  middle-age  schoolmen.  Without  defend- 
ing the  schoolmen,  let  me  warn  students  of 
science  against  the  schoolmen's  fault.  The 
fine-drawn  theories  of  life  and  its  origin,  the 
speculations  concerning  atoms,  their  move- 
ments, their  size,  their  nature,  may  or  may 
not  be  good  exercises  for  reason,  and  perhaps 
still  more  noble  subjects  for  fancy  and  im- 
agination. But  science  may  have  humbler 
spheres  for  her  energy,  and  yet  lose  nothing  of 
her  worth  and  nobleness.  The  greatest  hero 
of  the  ages.  His  very  enemies  being  the  wit- 
ness, was  He,  Who,  His  followers  say,  bowed 

3* 


58  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

down  from  the  heaven,  and  humbled  Himself 
to  human  Hfe.  And  so  will  it  be  for  science  ; 
yes,  for  all  knowledges  of  man  and  all  exer- 
cises of  his  understanding.  Their  glory  will 
be  their  lowly  service,  their  surest  honor  the 
good  which  they  do  to  an  ill-conditioned 
world.  A  hungering  humanity  is  calling  for 
bread  ;  give  it  not  a  stone.  It  asketh  for  an 
egg ;  do  not  offer  it  a  scorpion.  Prometheus 
stole  fire  from  the  heavens,  and  gave  it  to 
mankind.  The  jealous  gods  bound  him  to 
the  rock,  and  set  the  vulture  to  tear  out  hi^, 
ever-renewed  vitals.  There  is  no  such  fate 
for  him  who  now  brings  down  the  highest 
heavenly  possession,  and  grants  it  to  man  for 
his  blessing  and  his  good.  Such  an  one  is 
rather  taken  up  to  the  seat  of  God,  and  shines 
in  the  glory  of  Him  who  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  men.  Seek,  then,  by  most  exalted, 
ardent,  sweeping  thought,  to  include  all  things 
within  your  ever  extending  knowledge  of  na- 
ture's laws ;  but  come  back  again  and  down 
to  needy  men.  There,  raise  the  fallen,  teach 
the  ignorant,  heal  the  sick,  and  save  the  lost. 


RELIGION  AND   LAW. 


I.  Timothy  I.,  8. — ''  The  law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it 
lawfully." 


III. 

RELIGION  AND  LAW. 

Of  all  the  studies  which  present  themselves 
for  our  notice  there  is  not  one  that  is  of  really- 
greater  importance  than  that  of  law,  and  yet 
it  is  probably  the  subject  which  will  be  sup- 
posed most  technical  and  least  interesting. 
The  common  opinion  concerning  law  is  that 
it  is  a  dry,  jejune  pursuit,  sombre  as  those 
London  squares  in  which  its  votaries  live, 
and  dusty  as  the  windows  through  which  they 
look  out  upon  the  world  around  them.  The 
common  man  is  repelled  by  the  mere  appear- 
ance of  a  legal  document.  The  unwieldy 
phrases,  the  archaic  expressions,  the  circum- 
locution, the  very  material  on  which  it  is  writ- 
ten, and  the  form  of  letter  in  which  it  is  in- 
scribed— all  combine  to  give  an  air  of  weari- 
someness  which  offends,  almost  disgusts,  the 
busy  mind  and   direct  habits   of  the  present 


62  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

day.  Law,  it  is  said,  belongs  entirely  to  the 
lawyer,  and  had  better  be  left  to  professional 
persons ;  it  is  only  to  be  dealt  with  by  such 
outsiders  as  may  possess  sufficient  money  to 
meet  its  expenses,  or  are  furnished  with  small 
wisdom  enough  not  to  avoid  its  perils. 

Still,  how  important  a  place  does  the  law 
occupy  !  Every  member  of  the  State  has  re- 
lation to  it,  is  subject  to  its  operation,  and  is 
amenable  to  its  sanction.  We  must  all  obey 
the  laws.  How  necessary,  then,  that  we 
should  know,  at  least,  the  principles  upon 
which  they  are  based.  Every  occupation  is 
environed  by  laws  that  govern  it.  All  our 
intercourse  with  each  other  is  defined  and 
controlled  by  law.  He  who  would  live  in- 
telligently, ought  surely  to  know  something 
of  those  rules  under  which  he  must  spend  his 
life,  and  by  which  he  must  direct  his  conduct. 
In  free  countries,  moreover,  almost  every  man 
has  some  voice  in  the  making  of  laws.  He  is 
summoned  to  choose  his  representatives  in 
Parliament  and  Congress,  and  to  these  are 
confided  the  highest  functions  of  law  making. 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  6$ 

Many  men  are  compelled,  themselves,  to  dis- 
charge offices  which  involve  the  administra- 
tion of  law.  In  ten  thousand  ways,  in  per- 
sonal, social,  and  public  relationships,  the 
citizens  of  a  free  State  must  deal  with  law. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  scandal  in  the  present  day 
that  men  are  careless  about  the  laws  under 
which  they  live,  and  which  they  are  called  to 
administer.  Without  some  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  legislation,  a  man  has  not  com- 
pletely furnished  himself  for  his  place  in  the 
great  social  order. 

By  *'  law "  we  understand  that  collection 
of  principles  and  rules  which  are  to  govern 
the  conduct  of  men  in  relation  to  each  other, 
and  in  the  enforcement  of  which  the  State 
may  proceed  to  inflict  punishment.  The  law 
of  the  land  does  not  necessarily  embrace  ev- 
ery sphere  of  life,  and  control  every  possible 
action.  There  are  many  things  which  a  man 
ought  to  do  ;  but  if  he  does  not  do  them,  the 
State  would  not  do  right  by  inflicting  punish- 
ment. There  are  many  things  which  a  man 
ought  not  to  do,  but   the  law  does   not  pro- 


64  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

ceed  to  prevent  him  from  doing  them.  These 
are  the  actions,  the  principles  of  conduct  in 
relation  to  which,  must  be  found  in  what  we 
call  ethics,  and  upon  these,  religion  may  very 
properly  exercise  an  important  influence. 

The  proper  limits  of  law  and  morality  must 
therefore  be  decided  upon.  Where  must  the 
State  pronounce  judgment.?  Where  must  the 
State  be  silent?  When  are  the  sanctions  of 
public  law  to  be  set  in  force  ?  When  may 
men  be  left  to  those  other  forces  which  oper- 
ate upon  them — the  sense  of  duty,  the  gener- 
al approval  or  disapproval  of  their  fellows, 
the  consciousness  of  obligation  towards  God  ? 
It  is  of  prime  importance  that  we  should  de- 
cide upon  the  limits  which  mark  law,  moral- 
ity, and  religion. 

Religion  often  comes  into  our  life  as  an  ef- 
ficient practical  power.  It  may  be  doubted 
that  there  is  any  force  which  so  moves  men  as 
religious  conviction  or  excitement.  Men  do 
thinofs  from  religious  motives.  Men  abstain 
from  doing  things  upon  religious  grounds. 
The  history  of  the  world   is  largely  a  history 


RELIGION   AND    LAW.  6$ 

of  the  operation  of  these  rehglous  instincts 
and  sensibiHties.  Now,  it  becomes  essential 
for  the  student  of  laAv  to  know  how  these 
things  affect  human  Hfe.  Character  and  con- 
duct are  moulded  by  the  power  of  religion, 
and  to  deal  with  this  effectually,  whether  as 
the  maker  or  the  administrator  of  law,  a  man 
ought  to  know  something  of  the  nature  and 
power  of  the  religious  sentiment. 

This  aspect  of  the  question  is  of  so  much 
importance,  that  we  recur  to  it  again,  al- 
though we  referred  to  it  in  the  sermon  on  the 
general  relation  of  the  student  to  religion. 
Then,  as  one  of  the  forces  of  life,  one  of  the 
operative  powers  of  history,  we  saw  that  re- 
ligion required  to  be  studied,  and  could  be 
studied  satisfactorily  only  when  it  was  pos- 
sessed by  the  man  himself  Now  this  may 
be  specially  applied  to  the  lawyer.  Many  of 
the  cases  to  which  he  must  give  attention, 
many  of  the  points  upon  which  he  must  pro- 
nounce judgment,  and  furnish  counsel  and  ad- 
vice, include,  or,  in  some  way,  are  related  to 
religion.     Religion  is  precisely  one  of  those 


66  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

things  which  a  man,  without  it,  cannot  under- 
stand. He  does  not  appreciate  its  working  ; 
he  is  unable  to  gauge  its  power.  What  he 
calls  fanaticism  is  wisdom,  higher  than  the 
wisest ;  what  he  may  set  down  to  error  and 
folly  is  the  supremest  virtue,  the  divinest 
grace.  Such  a  man  is  worse  than  useless  in 
dealing  with  legal  questions,  which  involve 
religious  considerations.  He  sees  only  the 
definitions  of  the  law  ;  he  can  estimate  only 
by  the  rough,  coarse  rules  of  legislation. 
The  finer  shades  of  moral  life  he  is  unable  to 
appreciate  ;  and  whilst  he  is  appointed  to  fur- 
ther justice  and  maintain  the  right,  he  be- 
comes often  only  the  ally  of  the  wrong  doer, 
and  the  oppressor  of  the  righteous. 

This  may  take  a  peculiar  form  of  distinct- 
ness when  we  turn  for  a  moment  to  one  im- 
portant relation  of  religion  to  law,  which  in 
the  future  seems  to  promise  issues  of  consid- 
able  and  far-reaching  significance.  Law  in- 
deed, in  some  cases  formally  recognizes  relig- 
ion. It  has  placed  the  State  into  pecuHar 
relations  with  the  different  bodies  of  religious 


RELIGION  AND   LAW.  6/ 

persons — certainly,  in  countries  where  there 
is  an  estabHshment,  and,  to  some  extent,  even 
in  a  land  like  ours,  where  all  religions  are 
equal  in  the  eyes  of  the  State.  In  a  certain 
sense  all  sects  and  churches  are  recognized 
by  the  State  and  established,  some  in  a  very 
specific  sense.  The  moment  that  any  commu- 
nity of  persons  based  upon  religious  grounds 
proceeds  to  hold  property,  the  law  takes  cog- 
nizance of  that  fact,  and  the  very  conditions 
of  their  communion  are  subjects  of  contract 
and  trust,  and  as  such,  often,  come  to  be  con- 
sidered in  courts  of  justice.  In  some  countries 
the  State  has  assumed  complete  authority 
over  these  churches,  laying  down  the  rules 
of  government,  appointing  the  ministers, 
directing  the  ritual,  even  controlling  the 
creed. 

Now,  in  view  of  such  a  condition  of  things, 
does  it  not  become  the  duty  of  every  lawyer,' 
at  least  of  such  as  may  be  called  to  deal  with 
ecclesiastical  law,  to  make  himself  acquainted 
with  the  principles  of  religion  ?  And  this 
cannot    be    done    properly   unless    there    is 


68  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

knowledge  of  religion  in  personal  experience. 
Think  of  the  blunders  of  the  State  in  the  past 
with  respect  to  religion ;  think  of  the  difficul- 
ties which  seem  to  be  threatening  in  the  pos- 
sible changes  which  appear  imminent ;  think 
of  tRe  acts  of  injustice  which  persecution, 
bigotry,  superstition,  have  inflicted  in  the 
days  gone  by.  And  remember  how  many  of 
these  have  arisen  from  the  absolute  ignorance 
of  the  true  principles  of  religion  displayed  by 
the  makers  and  administrators  of  law.  Our 
mistakes  in  the  future  may  not  be  so  gross 
and  not  so  evident  as  those  in  the  past,  but 
they  may  be  as  real,  as  offensive  to  men  of 
fine  spirit  and  true  religious  sensibility,  as 
hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  as 
opposed  to  the  truest  progress  of  the  race. 
I  might  almost  lay  the  plea  for  religion  upon 
the  necessities  of  the  profession,  to  which  you 
will  be  devoted.  At  least  it  should  not  be 
dismissed  by  you  as  a  matter  worthy  of  no 
attention,  claiming  no  regard. 

But  there  is  not  only  this  definite  relation 
of  religion  to  law  which  we  have  now  dis- 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  69 

cussed ;  there  is  an  indefinite  place  which 
religion  may  occupy,  and  this  is  worthy  of 
attention.  The  function  of  law  is  concerned 
with  the  determination  of  duties,  the  ascertain- 
ment of  cases  in  which  the  laws  have  been 
broken,  and  the  appointment  of  penalty. 
Now,  in  all  of  these,  religion  may  play  an  im- 
portant part.  Indeed,  roughly,  the  founders 
of  law  have  always  recognized  this.  In  early 
systems  of  law  the  religious  and  legal  sanc- 
tions have  gone  together,  and  the  priest  and 
the  lawyer  have  been  one  and  the  same. 
One  of  the  noblest  bodies  of  law  which  the 
world  can  boast,  from  which  men  are  still 
constantly  drawing  principles  of  legislation, 
and  even  some  particular  precepts,  towards 
harmony  with  which  modern  enlightenment 
in  many  cases  seems  to  tend,  was  associated 
intimately  with  a  great  religious  system. 
Moses,  who  appointed  the  Levitical  service, 
was  also  the  legislator  of  the  Jewish  people, 
and  intertwined  with  all  his  laws  there  are  the 
Divine  obligations,  which  change  law  into 
religion,  v/hich  make  disobedience  not  only  a 


70  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

crime  but  a  sin,  stamping  disloyalty  with  the 
still  more  degrading  mark  of  the  idolater. 
And  all  systems  borrowing  somewhat  from 
the  Mosaic,  and  moreover,  finding  deep  in 
human  nature  this  relation  of  religion  and 
law,'  have  more  or  less  associated  religious 
obligations  with  the  claims  of  the  legislator. 
A  notable  example  of  this  remains  with  us  to- 
day in  one  of  the  commonest  legal  acts — viz., 
that  of  takine  an  oath.  Here  the  truthfulness 
of  the  testimony  is  assured  by  the  solemn 
sanction  of  an  appeal  to  God.  Some  legal 
practices  even  retain  the  cumbrous  and  al- 
most stupid  rule  of  refusing  the  testimony  of 
a  man  who  professes  not  to  believe  in  God, 
and  I  suppose  many  persons  are  found  who 
will  shrink  from  a  statement  on  oath,  who 
would  willingly  venture  to  make  it  when  they 
supposed  themselves  free  from  perjury.  But 
this  only  suffices  to  show  how  the  history  of 
law  involves  in  itself*  religious  sanctions,  and 
indeed,  expresses  in  a  rude  way  that  common 
sense  of  humanity  by  which  religion  is  held 
to  occupy  so  important  a  place  in  our  nature 


RELIGION   AND    LAW.  7 1 

and  life,  that  the  legislator  cannot  afford  to 
disregard  it. 

The  lawyer,  then,  will  have  to  deal  with 
men  over  whom  religion  has  more  or  less 
control.  It  is  a  power  of  such  importance 
that  it  would  be  the  part  of  a  wise  man  to 
deal  with  it  wisely.  I  know  it  is  very  easy  to 
dismiss  it  altogether,  to  say  in  respect  of  this, 
''  Oh,  that  belongs  to  another  sphere.  It  is 
mere  refining  to  talk  of  such  a  relation  or  to 
suppose  it  of  any  avail;"  but  such  a  spirit 
only  proves  a  narrow  mind,  and  can  fit  its 
possessor  for  nothing  better  than  the  merest 
pettifogging,  or  the  lowest  legal  stations. 
Wise  men,  who  understand  human  nature, 
will  reofard  it  in  a  different  liofht,  and  so  find 
many  an  opportunity  for  the  proper  and  suc- 
cessful use  of  the  religious  motives. 

In  what  delicate  positions  lawyers  are 
sometimes  placed !  The  interpretation  of 
contracts,  the  fulfilment  of  trusts,  the  adjust- 
ment of  family  difficulties,  the  settlement  of 
property,  the  reconciliation  of  enemies,  the 
determination     of    guilt — numberless     other 


72       .  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

things  which  call  for  the  skill  of  the  lawyer, 
furnish  abundant  opportunities  for  the  exer- 
cise of  other  and  far  higher  gifts  than  legal 
acumen,  nobler  acquirements  than  the  fullest 
acquaintance  with  principles  and  cases,  a  finer 
faculty  than  that  which  will  conduct  a  cause 
to  completest  triumph.  Even  for  the  lawyer, 
what  is  legal  is  not  always  what  is  right. 
What  may  be  just  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  may 
not  always  be  kindest,  wisest,  nor  at  last, 
even  most  useful  for  the  individual  or  for  the 
State.  A  Christian  lawyer,  in  the  true  sense 
of  that  term,  is  a  man  of  immense  value,  not 
only  to  his  client,  but  also  to  society.  We  do 
not  mean  by  that,  the  man  who  figures  as  a 
philanthropist,  or  takes  a  leading  place  in  the 
religious  world;  but  that  man  who  guides 
those  who  entrust  their  affairs  in  his  hands, 
not  only  with  a  lawyer's  judgment,  but  with 
the  wider,  nobler  conscience  of  one  who  is 
seeking  the  right  and  the  good — what  is  best 
for  one,  best  for  all.  He  will  not,  perhaps, 
always  gain  a  trial,  but  often  he  will  prevent 
the  legal  action  altogether.     He  may  not  only 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  73 

get  a  criminal  off,  but  he  may  be  the  means 
of  settinof  rieht  the  wronor,  and  restorinor  the 
erring.  Such  men  may  be  rare,  though  I  am 
not  quite  sure  that  they  are  as  rare  as  the 
common  opinion  sometimes  would  have  us 
think.  At  least,  young  men,  it  rests  with  you 
to  swell  the  number ;  and  thus  not  only  to 
establish  law,  but  to  spread  abroad  righte- 
ousness. 

One  of  the  most  natural  prospects  for  the 
lawyer  is  that  of  being  called  to  administer 
law  in  the  position  of  magistrate  or  judge. 
And  here  again  religion  will  be  an  important 
ministrant.  How  many  are  the  cases  to  deal 
with  which  there  is  required  an  instinct  of 
justice  !  The  criminal  is  not  merely  a  kind  of 
beast  that  needs  to  be  hunted  down  by  the 
processes  of  law.  Given  the  crime,  then  set 
the  officers  of  justice  upon  its  trail,  let  them 
track  the  wretch  who  committed  it,  drag  him 
to  the  light,  gather  evidence  which  may  over- 
whelm him  with  its  conclusiveness,  and  then 
leave  to  the  judge  nothing  but  the  barest  duty 
of  pronouncing  sentence !    In  some  of  the  ex- 


74  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

treme  cases  of  crime,  perhaps,  little  more  than 
this  can  be  done ;  but  in  how  different  a  spirit 
may  we  not  pursue  our  criminal  classes  ? 
There  is  a  certain  sacredness  about  justice 
administered  by  a  man  who  recognizes  some- 
thing other  than  the  mere  criminality  of  the 
evil  deed — a  light  which  shines  in  upon  the 
prisoner,  and  indeed  upon  all  men,  helping  to 
show  the  beauty  of  virtue  and  the  hideous- 
ness  of  crime.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  whole  of  criminal  law  ouofht  to  be  ren- 
dered  more  and  more  morally  instructive  than 
appears  to  be  its  character  in  our  day.  Law 
and  crime  now  are  as  enemies.  The  breaker 
of  the  law  seems  to  regard  the  law  simply  as 
a  foe  against  which  he  is  in  constant  and  even 
natural  hostility.  Law  should  be  rather  the 
expression  of  the  will  of  the  State — almost 
like  a  mother's,  with  love  and  sorrow  for  the 
child  who  disobeys.  The  real  evil  is  in  the 
wrong  spirit  of  its  study.  It  is,  I  know,  for 
scientific  purposes,  conveniently  separated 
from  morality  and  religion ;  but  it  cannot  be 
rightly  understood,   it  cannot  be  righdy  ad- 


RELIGION  AND   LAW.  75 

ministered,  except  by  him  who  feels  that  in 
his  awful  character  as.  judge,  he  to  some  ex- 
tent is  sharing  in  the  very  dignity  of  God, 
and  is  invested  with  that  sorrowful  power 
which  only  seeks  to  repress  evil  that  it-  may 
save  the  evil-doer. 

Closely  allied  with  this  is  the  character 
which  it  is  becoming  that  the  occupant  of  the 
bench,  and  indeed  all  who  deal  wnth  law, 
should  possess.  There  is  nothing  which  so 
impresses  the  people  of  a  country  as  the  ex- 
pression of  noble  sentiments  and  the  promul- 
gation of  wise  and  good  laws  by  men  who 
themselves  are  animated  by  these  sentiments, 
and  whose  lives  are  the  best  illustrations  of 
the  law  which  they  proclaim.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  few  things  so  tend  to  bring 
justice  into  contempt,  and  to  spread  far  and 
wide  a  spirit  of  rebellion  and  criminal  dis- 
obedience, as  the  bad  character  of  those  who 
are  appointed  to  make  and  execute  the  laws. 
One  of  the  first  essentials  to  a  well-ordered 
State  is  the  incorruptibility  of  the  bench,  and 
this,   we  believe,   we  may  proudly  boast  to 


76  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

have  been  gained  in  our  country  in  this  gen- 
eration. But  this  is  by  no  means  the  only 
quality  which  he  who  deals  in  justice  should 
possess.  This  may  ensure  confidence  in  de- 
cisions upon  civil  suits ;  but  we  are  now  insist- 
ing upon  the  character  and  life  which  shall  be 
a  shining  example  in  every  relationship. 
The  court  of  justice  is  assembled  to  establish 
righteousness,  to  punish  fraud.  What  if  the 
conduct  of  those  who  carry  on  its  affairs  will 
not  bear  the  light  of  day  !  The  magistrate 
sits  to  punish  the  disorderly,  the  openly 
vicious,  the  violent,  and  the  wrong  doer. 
What  if  counsel  and  court,  bench  and  bar,  are 
themselves  well  known  as  breakers  of  the 
laws  of  morality,  decency,  and  good  order ! 
It  is  a  scandal  and  a  shame,  an  outrage  upon 
public  morals,  a  mockery  of  true  justice,  and 
leads  the  criminal  only  to  calculate  the 
chances  of  escape  of  punishment,  and  never  to 
consider  the  wrong  of  which  he  may  be 
guilty.  The  words  of  the  apostle  should  sink 
deep  into  your  hearts — ''  Thou  approvest  the 
things    that    are    more    excellent,    being   in- 


RELIGION   AND    LAW.  ^J 

structed  out  of  the  law,  and  art  confident  that 
thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light  of 
them  which  are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of 
the  foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes,  which  hast  the 
power  of  knowledge  and  of  the  truth  in  the 
law.  Thou,  therefore,  which  teachest  another, 
teachest  thou  thyself?  Thou  that  preachest 
a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ? 
Thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit 
adultery,  dost  thou  commit  adultery  ?  Thou 
that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacri- 
lege ?  Thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of  the 
law,  through  breaking  the  law,  dishonorest 
thou  God?"  Remembering  ever,  that  civil 
law  is  only  a  part  of  the  higher  and  wider  law 
of  right  with  which  religion  in  every  point 
deals,  we  shall  find  these  words  searching 
into  the  very  depths  of  the  soul,  and  into  the 
most  hidden  secrets  of  our  life. 

This  must  suffice  for  our  consideration  of 
the  general  relation  of  religion  to  law,  and  the 
need  which  there  is  for  those  who  wish  to  be- 
come lawyers  not  to  forget  religion.  I  shall 
now  refer  briefly  to  some  of  those   dangers 


78  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

which  attend  your  special  study,  and  safety 
from  which  can  be  found  in  attention  to  the 
reHgious  side  of  your  nature. 

In  the  first  place,  the  student  of  law  has  to 
deal  very  much  with  mere  words  and  the 
definitions  of  the  meaning  of  Avords.  Laws 
express  in  words  certain  requirements  of  con- 
duct. The  legislator  must,  therefore,  use 
words  so  as  to  include  the  actions  to  which 
he  refers,  and  the  student  is  bound  to  study 
carefully  the  scope  of  the  words  used  in  the 
practical  Avork  of  the  law.  Much  of  his  busi- 
ness will  be  the  endeavor,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  include  a  certain  action  within  the  meaning 
of  a  word,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  exclude 
it  from  that  meaning.  Thus  it  is  that  the 
lawyer  comes  to  be  a  man  of  words.  He  is 
ever  dealing  with  them,  and  thus  contracts  a 
twofold  habit — that  of  running  everything 
into  the  form  of  words,  and  that  of  dealing 
•  with  words  in  some  artificial  and  strained 
way. 

The  moral  effect  of  this  is  very  evil.  It 
begets  a  disposition  of  criticism  generally  on 


RELIGION  AND   LAW.  79 

the  verbal  side.  Man,  and  nature,  and  life, 
even  God  and  His  relationships,  come  to  be 
locked  up  in  the  merely  legal  definitions  of 
words,  and  the  result  is  something  like  that 
which  fell  upon  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  in 
the  time  of  our  Lord.  Words  become  the 
dominants  of  character  and  life,  and  the  pro- 
found principles  of  morals  and  religion  are 
broken  up  and  destroyed  in  the  multiplication 
of  little  rules  and  verbal  niceties  ;  the  laws  of 
conscience  and  of  God  dwindle  into  the  cap- 
tious criticisms  of  mere  legal  precepts. 
Against  this  danger  the  moral  and  spiritual 
laws  of  Jesus  Christ  will  effectually  guard. 
They  are  broad  and  general.  They  are  care- 
less of  legal  niceties,  and  depend,  not  upon  the 
mere  logic  of  the  understanding,  but  upon  the 
more  direct  and  immediate  loofic  of  the  heart. 
Life,  under  their  influence,  will  be  a  growth, 
and  not  an  argument.  It  will  have  nature 
and  not  artifice.  In  the  free  spirit  of  the  life 
of  Christ,  the  lawyer  will  become  a  man,  eman- 
cipated from  the  shackles  of  maxims  and  pre- 
cepts,  with  heart  and  conscience  operating 


8o  SERMONS  TO  STUDENTS. 

rightly,  not  because   of  rule,   but   from   the 
force  of  an  indwelling  inspiration. 

Another  peril  closely  allied  to  the  former, 
and  indeed  growing  out  of  it,  is  the  loss  of  a 
profound  sense  of  moral  obligation  in  respect 
of  the  conduct  of  life.  For  legal  purposes 
the  lawyer  must  always  ask  the  question. 
What  is  the  law  ?  and  acts  must  be  done  or 
refrained  from  because  of  the  injunction  of 
the  Legislature.  The  ultimate  appeal  in 
cases  of  legal  import  must  be  to  what  is  com- 
manded, and  not  to  what  is  right.  In  this 
respect  the  province  of  the  legislator  is  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  the  administrator.  In 
makinof  the  law,  the  former  must  consider 
v/hat  is  dictated  by  the  principles  of  morality, 
for  what-  is  morally  bad  cannot  be  politically 
good.  But,  in  applying  the  law,  the  lawyer 
can  only  inquire  what  is  the  law,  and  by  this 
he  is  bound  in  the  very  letter.  Even  in  such 
extension  of  the  law  as  is  supplied  by  equity 
or  the  interpretation  of  the  court,  still  the 
spirit  of  the  law  must  be  observed,  and  de- 
parture   from   its    strictness    must    be    ever 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  8 1 

jealously  watched.  Now,  the  habits  of  mnid 
produced  by  such  duties  necessarily  tend  to 
lead  the  lawyer  away  from  the  consideration 
of  the  absolute  law  of  right,  by  which  alone 
the  highest  development  of  human  life  can 
be  attained.  He  judges  by  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  not  by  the  law  of  conscience.  Re- 
ligion will  supply  the  force  counteracting  this. 
Religious  truth,  and  the  moral  principles 
dependent  upon  it,  ever  lift  the  soul  into 
communion  with  eternal  right.  Communion 
with  God  will  purify  the  heart  from  the  local 
and  temporary  devices  of  municipal  law,  and 
raise  the  spirit  far  above  Its  narrowing  and 
depressing  influence.  Jesus  Christ  was  en- 
tirely free  from  all  such  limited  views  of  life 
and  its  duties,  and  he  who  knows  Christ,  who 
obeys  his  laws,  who  has  come  into  commun- 
nlon  with  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  looks 
to  Christ  as  his  Master  and  Lord,  will  find 
that  He  ever  regards  life  and  its  duties  In  its 
relation  to  what  is  right,  without  regard  to 
circumstance  or  person,  except  as  these  may 
modify   the    application    of  principle.       In   a 

4* 


82  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

word,  principle  becomes  such  a  man's  guide 
and  Stay.  It  will  be  a  light  for  dark  ways,  a 
Strength  and  support  in  the  hour  of  uncer- 
tainty, conflict,  and  dismay.  The  man  is  no 
longer  lost  in  the  lawyer ;  the  lawyer  is 
glorified  in  the  man. 

One  of  the  customs  of  the  profession  of  the 
law,  by  which  a  man  is  concerned  with  the 
interests  of  one  side  only  in  a  legal  cause, 
may  produce  an  ill  effect  which  it  is  important 
to  observe.  It  is  commonly  argued,  and 
probably  with  truth,  that  the  real  state  of 
affairs  is  best  discovered,  and  justice  most 
completely  done  in  any  particular  case,  by  the 
parties  on  either  side  doing  all  they  can  to 
establish  their  own  view.  It  is,  of  course,  the 
business  of  the  judge  to  hold  the  'balance 
evenly,  and  to  direct  proceedings  in  their 
legitimate  course.  The  jury  is  appointed  to 
seek  out  and  inquire  into  the  truth  ;  but  the. 
professional  lawyer  is  obliged  to  do  the  best 
he  can  for  his  party,  and  on  the  other  hand 
to  damage  his  opponent's  case  as  much  as  is 
possible.     All  this,  I  believe,  can  be  done  in  a 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  83 

perfectly  honorable  and  straightforward  way. 
But  none  the  less  it  is  a  fact  that  the  tendency 
of  such  professional  duty  is  to  develop  in  the 
mind  the  disposition  of  the  mere  partisan. 

Religion  supplies  the  corrective  of  this.  It 
extends  its  gracious  countenance  to  every 
one.  Religion  has  only  one  suit,  and  that 
has  been  long  since  given  up  by  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God,  who  has  reconciled 
all  men  to  His  Father.  There  is  no  separa- 
tion, no  contention,  in  Christ's  true  life. 
''  All  men  are  one  in  Jesus,''  and  "  He  is  our 
peace."  Christ  Himself  refused  to  be  a 
partisan.  When  appealed  to,  to  speak  to  the 
brother  who  was  injuriously  depriving  the 
other  of  his  inheritance.  He  declined  to  be  a 
judge  and  divider,  but  took  occasion  to  teach 
men  a  noble  lesson  against  covetousness,  and 
pointed  out  wherein  consisted  a  man's  real 
wealth.  The  narrower  spheres  of  legal  strife 
can  thus  be  changed  for  the  more  generous 
'  sympathies  of  the  Gospel.  Here  we  may 
learn  not  to  be  for  an  individual,  not  for  a 
party,  but  for  all  men  and  for  God. 


84  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

The  practical  workings  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession furnish  one  other  danger  against 
which  a  Christian  man  needs  to  be  upon  his 
guard.  In  the  law  men  are  not  introduced  to 
the  better  sides  of  human  life.  It  is  true  that 
suitors  are  supposed  to  be  seeking  for  justice  ; 
but  men  of  the  world  need  hardly  to  be  told 
that  the  sense  of  justice  is  somewhat  lost  in 
the  sense  of  personal  claims  for  advantage 
and  gain.  '*  I  will  have  justice,"  is  often  only 
the  mask  for  '*  I  will  be  revenged  ;  "  and  the 
lawyer  has  many  a  revelation  of  the  worst 
sides  of  our  poor,  frail,  sinful  humanity.  In 
criminal  law  this  is  specially  the  case.  The 
opening  up  of  the  details  of  crime  is  often 
offensive  and  shocking.  Now,  familiarity 
with  such  scenes,  and  such  manifestings  of 
human  wickedness,  may  blunt  the  finer  sides 
of  the  lawyer's  own  heart.  Justice  takes  on 
an  inexorable  sternness ;  the  skilful  counsel 
becomes  only  a  special  pleader;  he  who  aims 
at  conviction  questions  the  existence  of  all 
goodness ;  he  who  defends  the  criminal  avails 
himself  of   some   point   of  legal    distinction, 


RELIGION   AND   LAW.  85 

probably  only  too  doubtful  of  the  prisoner's 
innocence.  From  such  influences  a  man  must 
have  a  unique  nature  if  he  can  himself  escape 
moral  deterioration.  In  some  positions,  such 
as  that  of  the  court  and  counsel  in  our  police 
administration,  men  can  avoid  the  evil  only  by 
special  grace. 

Hence  must  the  lawyer  have  some  region 
of  retirement  and  refreshment,  where  an  al- 
together pure  life  may  be  experienced  and  a 
perfect  companionship  attained.  The  busy 
toiler  in  the  overcrowded  city  must,  on  occa- 
sions, escape  from  the  pollutions,  the  fetid  air, 
the  confined  habits,  to  the  pure  climate  of  the 
seaside,  to  fresh  country  life,  to  the  fine, 
heavenlike  region  of  the  mountain  top.  Here 
he  is  recreated,  braced,  and  able  to  withstand 
the  ill-conditions  of  his  home,  and  occupation 
in  town.  So  must  the  man,  whose  dealings 
are  with  the  immoral  sides  of  human  nature, 
find  safety  from  the  corrupting  associations 
of  his  common  life,  in  contemplation  of  the 
heavenly  realities,  and  in  communion  with  the 
unseen ;    in  the  inspiration  which  is  obtained 


86  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

from  the  presence  of  God  and  Christ,  in  retreat 
from  the  destructive  habits  of  his  common 
career.  From  the  struggle  of  revengeful  men 
he  retires  to  the  calm  of  the  loving  God; 
from  the  sad  view  of  man  in  his  worst  hours, 
a  slave  to  passion,  a  ready  servant  of  the 
devil,  he  turns  to  behold  the  All-pure,  the  All- 
true,  the  All-good.  If  there  be  a  vision  of  sin, 
it  is  sin  conquered  by  patient  and  tender 
virtue  ;  if  even  the  spectacle  of  the  horrible 
crime  of  Calvary,  it  is  that  very  crime 
changed  by  the  pure  heart  of  the  Sufferer,  by 
the  all-righteous  purpose  of  God,  into  the 
beneficent,  healing,  saving  power  of  redeem- 
ing grace,  with  its  dark  shadow  lost  in  the 
blaze  of  the  triumphant  light  of  love. 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING. 


LukE  IV.,  23. — '^Physician,  heal  thyself.' 


IV. 

THE  ART   OF   HEALING. 

Our  Lord's  choice  of  this  proverb  In  refer- 
ence to  Himself  was  peculiarly  appropriate, 
when  we  remember  how  large  a  portion  of 
His  work  was  the  healing  of  the  sick.  It  is 
probable  that  already  His  fame  had  gone 
abroad,  not  only  as  a  teacher,  but  as  a  healer, 
and  that  the  wonderful  cures  which  He  had 
effected  caused  His  name  to  be  in  all  men's 
mouths,  and  led  to  the  expectation  in  Naza- 
reth, to  which  He  referred,  that  He  would  do 
in  His  own  home  what  He  had  already  been 
doing  in  Capernaum. 

All  through  His  career  He  presents  Him- 
self as  the  Great  Physician.  He  gives  eye- 
sight to  the  blind.  He  cleanses  the  leper.  He 
bids  fevers  depart,  He  restores  the  lunatic  to 
their  sound  mind.  Everywhere  He  shows 
Himself  as  the  Son  of  God,  who  has  His  fin- 


go  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

gers  upon  the  springs  of  being,  and  can  give 
life,  and  ward  off  death,  and  drive  away  dis- 
ease. Christ  has  thus  estabHshed  a  pecuHar 
relation  between  His  religion  and  the  sick, 
which  the  history  of  Christianity  and  the  ten- 
dency of  civilization  have  developed  to  a 
remarkable  degree.  Very  intimate  has  been 
the  connection  between  religion  and  the  phy- 
sician's art.  To  no  one  ought  religion  to 
appeal  more  strongly  than  to  the  medical  stu- 
dent. 

Religion  has  always  a  peculiar  claim  upon 
a  man  when  he  has  been  cut  down  by  sick- 
ness. We  have  no  sympathy  with  that  spirit 
which  puts  off  all  thought  of  religion  until  the 
time  of  disease.  Common,  alas,  though  this 
is,  it  combines  in  itself  the  base  conduct  of 
the  .knave  and  the  fool.  If  religion  be  the 
service  of  God,  it  seems  to  be  very  like 
cheating  Him  of  His  service  if  we  turn  to 
Him  only  when  we  are  sick.  When  the  pow- 
ers are  fresh  and  strong,  when,  indeed,  ser- 
vice might  have  some  worth  in  it,  we  neglect 
God,  and  only  regard  Him  and  pay  Him  our 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING.  9I 

duty  when  we  are  stricken  down,  feeble  and 
useless.  Besides  this,  it  is  folly,  for  the  pro- 
bability is  that  the  time  of  sickness  will  be  the 
very  worst  time  for  seeking  after  the  Eternal 
One.  Then  the  soul  is  wrapped  in  the 
clouds  of  night.  Then,  shadows  overwhelm, 
and  the  poor  spirit,  worn  by  pain,  cowering 
in  terror,  shrinking  from  the  thought  of 
death,  knows  not  how  to  seek,  how  to  find 
its  only  resting-place.  And  yet  the  mercy  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ  will  accept  even  such  an 
one.  "  He  hath  anointed  me,"  said  the  pro- 
phet, speaking  of  our  Lord,  ''to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  poor;  He  hath  sent  me  to  heal 
the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to 
the  captives,  and  recovery  of  sight  to  the 
blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bound ;  '* 
and  although  the  lamp  be  lighted  late,  and 
only  flickers  with  a  feeble  flame,  yet  ''the 
smoking  flax "  we  know,  Christ  will  never 
quench.  When  all  have  turned  away  from 
the  wretched,  sick,  and  dying  spirit,  it  may 
receive  the  consolation  of  the  religion  of  Cal- 
vary,  and  therein  will  be  found   the  mercy 


92  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

which  saves  unto  the  uttermost.  How  often, 
therefore,  the  physicians  of  the  body  and  the 
ministers  of  the  soul  are  found  together !  The 
laws  of  health  may  have  been  broken,  but 
that  is  only  the  greater  reason  why  the 
healer  of  the  sick  should  attend.  The  laws 
of  spiritual  life  may  have  been  still  more  neg- 
lected ;  that  only  renders  more  urgent  the 
presence  of  one  who  may  seek,  by  the  com- 
forts of  religion,  to  bind  up  a  broken  heart 
and  heal  a  wounded  spirit. 

Another  aspect  of  the  intimate  connection 
which  religion  has  with  medicine  may  be  seen 
in  the  important  part  which  the  former  has 
taken  in  the  development  of  the  latter.  At 
one  time  religious  ministers  were  almost  the 
only  physicians,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  the 
opposition  with  which  some  of  the  earlier  ad- 
vances in  the  art  of  healing  were  met  by  the 
Church,  may  not  have  arisen  quite  as  much 
on  professional  grounds  as  for  supposed  reli- 
gious or  superstitious  reasons.  But  in  later 
times  religion  has  always  aided  and  fostered 
the  healer's  profession.     To  regard  the  sick 


THE  ART   OF  HEALING.  93 

at  all,  to  minister  to  their  needs,  to  treat 
them  in  any  other  fashion  than  that  of  the 
beast,  which  separates  the  wounded  member 
of  the  herd  from  the  rest  and  drives  it  away 
to  perish  and  to  die — this  has  become  the 
spirit  of  modern  civilization,  and  has  been 
quickened,  if  not  altogether  produced,  by  the 
influence  of  Christianity.  Rome  and  Greece 
had  no  hospitals.  Philanthropy,  which  deals 
tenderly  with  the  ills  and  sorrows  of  the  hu- 
man race,  is  the  child  of  religion  ;  and  it  will 
be  ^a  sad  day  for  the  weak,  the  diseased,  the 
lunatic,  and  the  afflicted,  if  the  world  were  to 
give  up  its  faith  in  Christ,  and  to  turn  to  a 
scientific  or  philosophic  atheism  as  the  ulti- 
mate teaching  of  a  progressive  age.  These 
schools  of  physic,  these  hospitals  where 
young  men  are  engaged  in  studying,  and 
without  which  there  would  be  little  progress 
in  the  science  and  art  of  the  physician,  would 
at  once  be  closed  were  it  not  for  the  sanction 
of  religion  and  the  generosity  of  the  Christian 
Church.  You  may  sometimes  in  your  heed- 
lessness, in  your  thoughtless  pride,  laugh  at 


94  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

the  claims  of  religion.  Remember,  at  least, 
that  you  owe  to  it  your  instruction,  and  the 
very  opportunities  of  study,  whereby  you  are 
enabled  to  attain  the  place  which  your  am- 
bition may  desire. 

But  these  are  merely  external  and,  as  we 
may  say,  accidental  relations  of  religion  to 
your  profession.  Let  us  see  if  there  are  not 
more  intimate  grounds  upon  which  I  may  ap- 
peal to  you  to  yield  yourselves  to  the  claims 
of  Christ. 

Consider,  in  the  first  place,  the  nature  of 
disease  itself  What  is  it  ?  It  is  the  dis- 
organization of  the  human  body,  the  improp- 
er action  of  some  of  the  functions  of  the 
physical  nature,  often  arising  from  disregard 
of  the  laws  of  natural  well-being.  All  disease 
is  not  connected  with  wrong,  but  a  vast 
amount  of  the  disease  from  which  men  are  to- 
day suffering,  is  the  direct  and  immediate 
result  of  immoral  life  ;  in  some  cases  that  of 
th*e  sufferer,  in  other  cases  that  of  those  by 
whom  the  sufferer  has  been  influenced.  It  is 
quite   needless  to  give  detailed  examples  of 


THE  ART  OF  HEALING.  95 

this.  My  statement  is  a  mere  commonplace. 
In  this  regard  what  is  the.  true  office  of  the 
physician  in  relation  to  disease  ?  Is  it  simply 
to  arrest  the  mischief,  to  restore  the  body  to 
its  healthful  action,  to  help  nature  in  that  effort 
which  it  will  make  to  throw  off  the  alien  and 
destructive  presence — in  a  word,  merely  to 
cure?  Certainly  not.  A  far-reaching  and 
philosophical  physician  will  aim  not  only  at 
the  recovery  of  the  body,  but  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  those  very  actions,  that  state  of  life, 
those  habits  of  conduct  which  have  caused 
the  disease.  The  physician  is  a  moral  re- 
former as  well  as  a  physical  healer. 

He  must  take  his  part  too,  in  the  preven- 
tion of  those  evil  conditions  which  may 
render  a  man  diseased  without  any  fault  of 
his  own.  Inheritance,  companionship,  neigh- 
borhood, all  these  develop  and  extend  dis- 
ease. The  uncleanness  of  the  man  who  lives 
next  door  to  me,  the  sanitary  ignorance  or 
neglect  of  the  manager  of  my  district,  the 
greed  of  gain  of  the  people  whose  works  are 
situated    near   my    home — these,    and    such 


96  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

things,  may  bring  the  most  terrible  infliction 
to  my  house,  may  spread  a  pestilence  to 
which  I  shall  fall  a  victim.  Must  the  doctor 
wait  for  the  evil  to  be  present  and  operate, 
before  he  takes  action  ?  Quite  otherwise. 
The  ''  profession  "  must  be  the  guides  of  opin- 
ion here ;  they  must  raise  the  alarm,  give  the 
instruction,  direct,  even  create  a  public  senti- 
ment. Unless  they  do  this,  they  altogether 
fail  of  their  high  calling,  and  open  themselves 
to  the  charge  of  being  traders  upon  the  sick- 
nesses, the  death  of  their  fellow-men — vul- 
tures that  fatten  upon  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 
But  who  can  tell  the  mighty  power  of  reli- 
gion as  an  engine  for  the  amelioration  of  man- 
kind, and  for  the  improvement  of  the  morals, 
alike  of  the  individual  and  society  ?  The  vir- 
tues that  spring  from  a  faith  in  God  are  the 
virtues  that  lead  to  healthfulness  and  the 
enjoyment  of  life.  He  who  serves  God  and 
follows  righteousness  has  the  promise  of  old 
age,  with  health  and  happiness.  The  courses 
that  lead  to  disease,  to  the  sudden  cutting  off 
of  life,  to  the  sun  going  down  when  it  is  yet 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING.  97 

day — these  are  often  best  traversed,  even 
reversed,  by  the  power  of  reHgion.  The 
sentiments  that  destroy  selfishness,  and  com- 
pel men  to  regard  each  other,  are  nowhere 
found  but  in  the  light  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 
The  powers  absorbed  by  the  strife  and 
struggle  of  the  age,  the  passion  for  wealth, 
the  ambition  of  renown,  a  place,  and  a  name, 
these  are  only  moderated  and  governed  by 
the  knowledge  of  Divine  things,  and  the  ex- 
perience of  a  life  above  the  present,  which  yet 
refines  and  sublimes  the  lower.  There  is  a 
wide  sense  in  which  our  Lord  is  called  a 
Physician,  and  the  Gospel  is  spoken  of  as 
Gilead's  balm.  The  minister  of  religion  only 
acts  under  this  great  Healer  ;  and  what  are 
you,  my  friends,  but  the  under-physicians  in 
the  Divine  labor  of  lessening  ill,  and  bringing 
back  the  world  to  its  perfect  wholeness  ? 

The  character  of  some  diseases  gives  a  still 
more  specific  character  to  the  relation  borne 
by  religion  to  medicine.  There  are  the  dis- 
eases of  the  mind,  where  the  body  is  only  dis- 
organized, because  its  companion,  friend,  and 
5 


98  SERMONS   TO  STUDENTS. 

mistress  has  first  become  deranged.  How 
many  are  the  cases  of  ill  health,  where  the 
doctor  is  called  in,  and  consulted  by  anxious 
friends,  even  by  the  patient  himself,  and 
where  he  yet  can  give  no  adequate  explana- 
tion of  the  too  evident  lack  of  health  !  No 
active  disease  can  be  discovered,  there  is  no 
functional  derangement,  every  part  of  the 
body  appears  vigorous,  orderly,  healthful, 
and  yet  the  poor  sufferer  is  weak,  sick,  and 
weary.  Physician  after  physician  is  appealed 
to.  Medicine  is  tried.  Honest  men  brave- 
ly say  they  can  do  nothing.  Dishonest  men 
practise  and  experiment  upon  the  poor  body. 
Hopes  are  raised,  deferred,  disappointed,  and 
the  art  of  healing  is  proved  to  be  ineffectual 
to  deal  with  all  the  ills  to  which  our  flesh  is 
heir.  Probably  after  a  while  disease  presents 
itself;  the  veriest  tyro  in  physic  can  observe 
it,  but  by  that  time  it  is  too  late,  and  another 
victim  is  added  to  the  countless  multitude 
who  have  either  slipped  out  of  life  altogether, 
or  have  been  relegated  to  the  wearinesses  of 
invalidism,  because   no   one  knew  what  was 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING.  99 

the  matter,  and  the  hurt  has  only  been  sHght- 
ly  healed. 

When  Lady  Macbeth  walks  In  her  sleep, 
watched  by  the  doctor  and  the  attendant,  she 
heaves  a  deep  sigh,  whereupon  the  kindly 
doctor  says — 

*'  What  a  sigh  is  there  !  The  heart  is  sorely  charged." 

And  then  confesses — 

*'This  disease  is  beyond  my  practice." 

And  farther  on — 

*'  More  needs  she  the  divine  than  the  physician." 

In  conversation  with  Macbeth  himself,  who 
asks — 

"  How  does  your  patient,  doctor?" 

He  replies — 

"  Not  so  sick,  my  lord, 
As  she  is  troubled  with  thick-coming  fancies, 
That  keep  her  from  her  rest." 

To  this  Macbeth  answers — ■ 

"  Cure  her  of  that. 
Canst  thou  not  minister  to  a  mind  diseased. 
Pluck  from  the  memory  a  rooted  sorrow, 
Raze  out  the  written  troubles  of  the  brain. 
And,  with  some  sweet  oblivious  antidote. 
Cleanse  the  stuff'd  bosom  of  that  perilous  stuff 
Which  weighs  upon  the  heart  ?  "  ^ 


100  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

Is  this,  indeed,  the  only  answer  ? — 

"  Therein  the  patient  must  minister  to  himself." 

Is  that  all  that  any  doctor  can  say  ?  No  won- 
der that  the  impatient  king  exclaimed  con- 
temptuously— ■ 

"  Throw  physic  to  the  dogs,  I'll  none  of  it.'* 

If  that  were  the  only  reply  the  doctor  could 
give,  then,  truly,  in  such  diseases  the  scorn 
of  Macbeth  is  well  deserved. 

But  there  is  another  ministry  for  such.  He 
is  the  wise  physician  who  can  combine,  with 
his  knowledge  of  the  body,  the  more  subtle 
knowledoe  of  the   soul.     It  is   not  medicine 

o 

these  patients  need,  but  gentle  searching  into 
heart  and  conscience.  The  spirit  wants  the 
vigor,  not  the  body.  The  conscience  requires 
rest,  and  not  the  frame.  He  who  would  per- 
fectly heal  should  know  this  physic.  If  his 
own  sorrows  have  been  comforted,  his  own 
needs  supplied,  if  the  restless  yearnings  of  his 
own  spirit  have  been  made  content,  if  his  own 
conscience  has  been  satisfied — in  a  word,  if 
he  has  found  the  true  source  of  spiritual 
healthfulness,  then  may  he,  indeed,  minister 


THE   ART   OF  HEALING.  lOI 

to  the  mind  diseased,  and  be  not  only  the 
physician,  but  also  the  divine. 

Believe  me,  friends,  there  is  no  art  in  this. 
It  is  not  taught  in  any  school,  nor  is  the 
wondrous  knowledge  given  by  any  professor. 
It  is  not  written  in  the  wisdom  of  the  books, 
nor  can  it  be  learned  except  in  the  experience 
of  your  own  heart  and  life.  Thus  you  will 
gain  the  eye  quick  to  see  the  spiritual  evil,  as 
now  you  can  detect  the  bodily  ill.  The 
pathology  of  the  soul  can  be  studied  only  in 
the  recesses  of  self-knowledo-e.  Yourselves 
the  healed,  the  strengthened,  and  the  com- 
forted of  God,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to 
heal,  and  strengthen,  and  comfort  others. 
Many  are  there,  like  the  woman  of  the  Gospel 
whom  no  physician  can  cure,  but  who,  only 
touching  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment,  will 
feel  themselves  whole  at  once.  Happy  the 
physician  who,  conscious  of  his  inability,  can 
yet  take  the  poor  sick  soul  to  that  Healer 
who  never  fails ! 

We  have  thus  spoken  of  the  art  of  healing 
in   some   of  those  general   aspects   in  which 


102  .  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

religion  may  be  said  to  be  very  closely  bound 
up  with  it.  Let  me  now  draw  your  attention 
to  the  effect  which  religion  will  produce  upon 
the  character  of  the  physician.  This  is  per- 
haps, as  a  practical  matter,  of  supreme  im- 
portance. 

Few  men  depend  for  effective  work,  more 
upon  their  character,  than  doctors.  Perhaps 
the  only  class  of  persons  whose  labor  be- 
comes useless  when  character  has  departed, 
in  a  more  marked  degree  than  that  of  physi- 
cians, is  that  of  ministers  of  religion.  With- 
out good  reputation,  these  had  better  make 
no  effort  to  gain  a  hearing  and  minister  to 
Christ's  Church.  Of  course,  there  have  been 
cases  well  known  and  of  public  fame,  of  phy- 
sicians failing  utterly  on  the  moral  side  of 
their  nature,  and  yet,  by  reason  of  a  peculiar 
genius  and  indomitable  energy,  still  gaining 
a  name,  and  becoming  wealthy  and  influen- 
tial. But  such  persons  are  rather  the  marks 
and  beacons  whereby  we  must  direct  our 
way,  and  avoid  the  dangerous  places  where 
we  may  become  utterly  wrecked.     As  a  gen- 


THE  ART   OF   HEALING.  IO3 

eral,  almost  universal,  rule,  the  reputation  of 
the  physician  must  be  spotless.  Like  the 
ancient  knight,  he  must  know  no  fear,  and  be 
subject  to  no  reproach. 

Where  can  be  found  a  better  strength  and 
inspiration  for  such  noble  life  than  in  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  The  peasant  of 
Nazareth  was  the  politest,  the  most  urbane 
man  that  ever  lived.  He  adorned  the  social 
gathering,  and  shed  a  radiance  most  bene- 
ficent. He  knew  the  true  secret  of  greatness 
— sympathy  with  the  greatest  number,  and 
revealed  and  practised  this,  that  you  and  I 
and  all  men  might  seek  the  same,  and  attain 
to  the  same  perfect  view  of  manners  and 
habits  of  life.  To  this  end,  nothing  is  more 
helpful  than  the  perfect  purity  and  innocence 
which  a  powerfully  religious  spirit  will  ever 
conserve.  There  is  danger  lest  this  be  lost  by 
the  physician.  He  comes  into  certain  pecu- 
liar relationships  with  patients,  especially 
those  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  some  of  that 
mystery,  even  that  ignorance  which  helps  to 
innocency,  is  forfeited.     That  all  may  have 


104  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

confidence  in  him,  that  he  may  be  secure  in 
the  midst  of  temptations,  that  there  may  be  no 
pruriency,  no  unholy  irreverence,  the  physi- 
cian needs  that  character,  the  strength  and 
grace  of  which  rehgion  supplies.  Familiarity 
with  us  fallen  creatures  and  our  most  private 
affairs  is  not  helpful  to  the  preservation  of  a 
high  moral  tone.  This  religion  will  furnish. 
It  is  itself  a  courtesy — a  culture.  It  gives  a 
light  and  a  beauty  to  thought,  and  word,  and 
deed,  that  are  altogether  its  own.  It  will  ren- 
der the  healer  the  friend,  the  confidant,  the 
wise  helper  of  the  family.  Husband  and  wife, 
parents  and  children  alike,  will  lean  upon  his 
Avisdom  and  his  skill.  His  work  Avill  be  as 
tenderly  performed  as  a  woman's,  his  pres- 
ence will  be  the  purity  of  an  angel  of  God. 

Another  of  the  qualifications  of  a  physi- 
cian is  tenderness  of  heart  and  sympathy  with 
the  suffering.  How  much  healing  power  is 
to  be  found  in  that  complete  trust  which  a 
patient  comes  to  feel  in  his  medical  attendant, 
so  that  it  is  not  always  the  most  able  and 
most  learned  men  that   are  the  best  physi- 


THE  ART   OF   HEALING.  105 

clans.  We  fororive  a  ereat  deal  to  skill  and  ex- 
perience,  but  how  much  more  welcome  in  the 
chamber  of  sickness  is  he  who  can  respond  to 
the  sorrows  of  the  hour,  and  in  the  family 
often  plunged  into  deepest  affliction,  can  be 
something  more  than  the  merely  able  com- 
batant with  disease,  even  the  friend,  the 
adviser,  the  bringer  of  comfort !  It  is  a  wise 
old  saying  that  "  the  physician  needs  the  eye 
of  a  hawk,  the  heart  of  a  lion,  and  the  hand 
of  a  lady " ;  but  how  much  are  the  softness 
and  the  delicacy  of  touch  enhanced,  when  the 
courage  is  the  courage  of  the  really  strong 
man,  who  is  strong  enough  to  feel  pity,  and 
brave  enough  to  be  gentle  [ 

Now,  some  sides  of  the  training  of  the 
doctor  are  likely  to  numb  the  softer  emotions 
of  the  heart.  It  is  quite  certain  that  a  mere 
sentimentality — a  condition  of  emotion  easily 
aroused — is  fatal  to  the  physician's  success. 
For  diagnosis  of  disease,  and  still  more  in 
surgery,  the  mind  must  be  altogether  undis- 
turbed by  any  of  the  affections  ;  and  in  many 
cases,  with  severe  will  the  healer  must  nerve 
5* 


I06  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

himself  to  the  task,  and  steel  his  heart  against 
the  distractions  of  sympathy  and  compassion. 
The  scientific  training  of  the  medical  pro-i 
fession  still  further  operates  in  this  direction. 
Disease  has  its  laws  as  well  as  health.  Pain 
is  as  much  a  factor  in  the  great  physical  se- 
ries of  antecedent  and  consequent  as  the  fir- 
ing of  the  gun  which  propels  the  ball,  and  the 
gravitation  which  ever  drags  the  ball  down  to 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  healer  is,  there- 
fore, compelled  to  note  with  care  the  physical 
antecedents,  concomitants,  and  consequents 
of  the  functions  of  life.  Indeed,  these  are 
his  chief  study,  and  he,  in  common  with  all 
physicists,  is  in  peril  of  forgetting  life's  moral 
aspects.  If  there  be  no  other  difference,  than 
the  more  or  less  of  complexity,  between  the 
interactions  of  two  substances  in  the  test  tube 
and  the  development  of  some  vital  fluid  in  an 
organ  of  the  body,  although  the  latter  may  be 
associated  with  the  keenest  pain,  and,  in 
some  form  or  other,  terminate  in  death,  why 
should  the  medical  practitioner  experience,  in 
the  one  case,  a  single  thrill  of  emotion  more 


THE  ART  OF   HEALING.  10/ 

than  is  felt  by  the  chemist  in  the  other  ?  If 
absolute  physicism  is  the  ultimate  resolution 
of  the  phenomena  of  all  life,  then  varieties  of 
emotion,  so  far  as  the  will  can  control  them, 
are  impertinent  and  unscientific.  To  lose  hu- 
manity in  this  way,  would  be  one  of  the  most 
serious  drawbacks  to  the  progress  of  the 
healing  art,  and  yet  this  is  the  danger  with 
which  it  is  threatened  in  our  day. 

This  tenderness  of  heart  is  further  imper- 
iled by  the  physician's  familiarity  with  suffer- 
ing. Human  nature  is  healthfully  capable  of 
only  certain  measures  of  activity  in  any  of  its 
spheres.  All  excitement,  all  action  beyond 
this,  is  sure  to  operate  to  the  destruction  of 
the  faculty  or  capacity  which  is  excessively 
used.  The  overwrought  mind  becomes  stu- 
pid  and  powerless,  the  too  much  excited 
sense  is  numbed,  the  emotion  excited  beyond 
measure  grows  languid  and  irresponsive. 
Hence  the  incessant  sieht  of  suffering  renders 
the  heart  at  last  more  callous  and  indifferent. 
Just  as,  at  first,  the  young  student  shrinks  from 
the  sickening  scenes  of  the  operation  theatre, 


I08  SERMONS   TO  STUDENTS. 

or  the  dissecting  room,  but  after  a  while 
grows  shockingly  indifferent  to  every  exhibi- 
tion of  horror,  so  the  heart,  at  first  sympa- 
thetic with  every  pain,  becomes  at  length 
torpid,  not  to  be  touched  by  the  saddest  ex- 
hibition of  human  ill.  The  wise  physician 
knows  how  injurious  such  a  result  is,  not  only 
upon  his  personal  and  moral  temper,  but  even 
upon  his  professional  prospects.  Hence  the 
offensive  manner  of  some  doctors,  so  unnat- 
ural in  their  tenderness,  so  mechanical  in  the 
commonest  courtesies  of  life.  Better  the 
rude  eccentricities  of  the  would-be  Abernethy, 
than  these  polished  heart-falsehoods  of  the 
fashionable  apothecary. 

Against  all  these  influences  a  deeply  re- 
ligious spirit  is  the  best  defence.  Christianity 
is  always  the  truest  courtesy.  He  who  ever 
lives  in  sympathetic  communion  with  the  spir- 
it of  Jesus  Christ,  will  have  a  constant  supply 
of  real  emotion — not  due  to  external  impulses, 
but  depending  upon  the  deep  principles  of  an 
inner  life.  Humanity  will  take  upon  itself  a 
new  and  beautiful   form.     The  meanest,  the 


THE  ART   OF   HEALING.  IO9 

most  pitiable  object  of  the  physician's  care 
will  have  a  sacred  worth  about  it,  as  being 
part  of  the  family  of  mankind,  of  which  God 
is  the  Father,  and  Christ  the  Elder  Bro- 
ther. The  healing  art  will  be  no  longer  a 
profession,  but  a  calling,  and  the  voice  of 
God  will  ever  be  heard,  giving  dignity  to  all 
effort,  and  summoninor  to  noblest  endeavor. 

This  will  impart  a  glow  to  the  emotions, 
and  preserve  the  nature  from  the  chill  of 
mere  intellectualism.  The  fundamental  dual- 
ity of  man  in  his  material  and  his  spiritual  na- 
ture wnll  not  be  forgotten.  He  who  has 
found  God  the  Great  Spirit,  is  not  likely  to 
regard  God's  human  child  as  a  mere  machine. 
The  moral  aspects  of  health  and  disease  will 
be  properly  adjusted,  and  never  ignored. 
Religion  will  render  the  man  sympathetic, 
but  real.  It  will  give  the  genuine  coin  of  po- 
liteness and  good  behavior,  of  which  fashion, 
professional  etiquette,  worldly  wisdom  issue 
only  the  counterfeit.  That  purity  of  life  of 
which  we  spoke,  and  the  tenderness  of  heart 
of  which    we    are    speaking,    when    derived 


no  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

from  true  religion,  will  emerge  in  a  gentleness 
of  demeanor  and  a  sweetness  of  manner  that 
shall  themselves  be  as  medicine  of  wondrous 
potency.  Many  a  man  has  been  cured  of  his 
disease,  who  yet  almost  died  of  his  physician. 
The  roughness  of  manner  which  was  natural 
to  some  great  healers,  and  became  a  sort  of 
fashion  among  their  would-be  imitators, 
would  be  needless  when  skill  and  insight,  ex- 
perience and  devotion  rested  upon  the  firm 
basis  of  religious  conviction.  And  not  a  little 
of  highest  spiritual  service  could  be  wrought 
by  him  who,  summoned  to  relieve  man's  suf- 
ferings in  an  hour  of  need,  was  able  to  seize 
upon  the  opportunities,  then  so  often  afford- 
ed, of  a  ministration,  the  issues  of  which  are 
not  merely  In  the  health  of  the  body  and  the 
enjoyment  of  this  world,  but  in  the  vigor  of 
the  soul  and  the  glorious  felicities  of  the  eter- 
nal life. 

There  is  one  consideration  of  great  practi- 
cal importance  with  which  I  close.  It  is,  per- 
haps, not  the  best  method  to  find  the  sanc- 
tions  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING.  Ill 

hopes  or  fears  of  a  future  world.  The  direct 
and  spiritual  claims  of  Christianity  seem  to  be 
at  once  more  elevated  and  more  forcible  than 
mere  considerations  of  self-interest,  even 
though'  they  relate  to  the  stupendous  realities 
of  eternity.  Nevertheless,  no  sane  man 
would  dream  of  neglecting  these;  and  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come,  at  times,  im- 
press and  overwhelm  us  with  their  awfulness. 
These  thoughts  may  well  affect  a  class  of 
men  who  are  placed  in  positions  of  constant 
peril.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  statis- 
tics of  life  and  death  among  doctors  bear  out 
what  common  sense  would  suggest — that 
they  are  open  to  the  insidious  approach  of 
diseases  that  are  mortal,  and  that  the  ardu- 
ous duties  of  the  profession  make  their  life  to 
be  somewhat  hazardous. 

As  I  review  my  contemporaries  among  med- 
ical men  in  college,  at  the  university,  and  in 
professional  life,  how  many  of  them  have 
been  cut  down  in  the  flower  of  their  manhood 
just  as  life  was  opening  up  before  them  !  A 
slight  accident  at  an  operation  or  at  a  '  post- 


112  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

mortem/  a  sudden  call  to  an  Infectious  disease, 
in  some  unguarded  condition  of  the  body,  too 
great  strain  of  professional  labor,  the  pestilen- 
tial atmosphere  in  which  a  frail  constitution 
was  summoned  to  toil — these  and  other  such 
circumstances  in  cases  which,  I  dare  say, 
many  of  you  can  now  recall,  all  remind  us  of 
life's  uncertainty  and  the  peculiar  dangers  in 
which  you  are  placed.  '*  If  a  man  die  shall 
he  live  again  ?  "  was  the  question  which  the 
Aramsean  patriarch  asked  with  solemn  signif- 
icance thirty-five  centuries  ago.  The  ques- 
tion has  lost  none  of  its  Import  for  you  to- 
day, though  it  may  be  answered  in  a  fuller 
light.  If  there  be  a  life  beyond  the  grave — 
and  who  amongst  you  will  dare  to  say  in  his 
best  and  wisest  hours  there  is  not  ? — it  Is  a 
strange  journey  upon  which  the  soul  must  go. 
A  visit  to  a  patient,  to-morrow,  may  start  you 
upon  It.  Whither  will  it  lead  ?  What  is  the 
road  that  you  must  travel  ?  Have  you  made 
preparation  ?  Is  there  a  map  of  the  country 
through  which  you  pass  ?  Have  you  a  guide, 
a  companion?     Will  there  be  a  hostelry,  or 


THE   ART   OF   HEALING.  II3 

perchance  a  home  ?  Some  of  us  think,  and 
indeed,  there  are  profound  experiences  of  the 
inner  soul  whereby  we  say  we  know,  that  we 
have  found  those  things  which  make  all  the 
prospect  assured,  the  future  without  careful- 
ness, because  in  the  present  we  have  the  ear- 
nest, the  pledge  for  all  that  now  may  be  un- 
known. It  was  a  Physician  who  gave  us  the 
cheering  knowledge.  He  is  the  Healer  of  all 
human  woes.  Healer  of  yours  if  you  but  seek 
His  skill,  and  trust  Him  utterly  ;  and  having 
made  whole,  then  He  teaches,  guides,  and 
saves. 


RELIGION  AND  ART. 


Exodus  XXXV.,  30-35. — And  Moses  said  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  See,  the  Lord  hath  called  by 
name  Bezaleel  the  son  of  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur^  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  :  and  he  hath  filled  him  with 
the  spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  in  understanding, 
and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  work- 
manship ;  and  to  devise  curious  works,  to  work 
in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in  brass,  and  in  the 
cutting  of  stones,  to  set  them,  and  in  carving  of 
wood,  to  make  any  manner  of  cunning  work. 
And  he  hath  put  in  his  heart  that  he  may  teach, 
both  he  and  Aholiab  the  son  of  Ahisamach,  of 
the  tribe  of  Dan.  Them  hath  he  filled  with 
wisdom  of  heart,  to  work  all  manner  of  work,  of 
the  engraver,  and  of  the  cunning  workman,  and 
of  the  embroiderer,  in  blue,  and  in  purple,  in 
scarlet,  and  in  fine  linen,  and  of  the  weaver,  even 
of  them  that  do  any  work,  and  of  those  that  de- 
vise cunning  work. 


V. 

RELIGION  AND  ART. 

The  subject  which  demands  our  attention 
this  morning,  is  perhaps  of  more  general  in- 
terest than  any  of  those  which  have  entered 
into  our  present  course.  In  a  certain  sense 
it  is  not  so  technical,  or  at  least  there  is  a 
wider  and  more  popular  interest  taken  in  the 
subject,  and  accordingly  no  man  feels  that  he 
is  quite  a  layman  in  relation  to  questions  of 
art.  Few  persons  will  abstain  from  express- 
ing an  opinion  upon  the  artist's  labor. 
Everyone  can  hear  a  piece  of  music,  every- 
one can  see  a  statue  or  a  painting.  The 
work  of  the  architect  is  manifest,  public.  The 
passer  by,  though  a  fool,  conceives  himself 
able  to  judge  whether  a  building  be  propor- 
tionate or  monstrous,  vast  or  mean,  beautiful 
or  shapeless — and  perhaps  this  popular  opin- 
ion has  some  truth  in  it,  for  while  other  stud- 


Il8  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

ies  are  more  or  less  technical  or  professional, 
this  is  human,  world-wide,  universal. 

At  the  present  time,  too,  there  is  what  we 
may  call  a  "  rage  for  art."  It  has  become  a 
fashion.  The  development  of  wealth,  and 
the  extension  of  knowledge,  together  with  the 
application  of  the  results  of  scientific  discov- 
eries to  some  of  the  arts,  have  combined  to 
scatter  widely  the  creations  of  the  artist's  ge- 
nius. Music  is  made  popular,  and  even 
sculpture,  the  rarest  of  the  arts,  by  the  in- 
creased power  of  working  in  plastic  methods, 
has  been  placed,  in  some  of  its  forms,  within 
the  reach  of  persons  of  the  narrowest  means. 
Hence,  a  demand  for  objects  of  art  has  sprung 
up,  and  the  supply  of  art-workers  has  accom- 
panied and  responded  to  the  demand.  Proba- 
bly at  no  period  in  the  world's  history  were 
there  so  many  artists.  Studios,  academies, 
institutes,  schools,  rise  on  every  hand.  To- 
day it  is  not  the  patrician  who  patronizes  art, 
but  the  people  ;  and  the  sense  of  art,  the  un- 
derstanding of  art,  is  supposed  at  least  to  be 
as  widespread  as  the  market. 


RELIGION   AND   ART.  II9 

In  some  quarters,  especially  where  wealth 
has  much  accumulated,  this  taste  for  the  pro- 
duction of  art  is  a  kind  of  fashion.  It  is  taken 
up  like  any  other  fashion.  Some  make  it  a 
pursuit,  a  hobby,  but  the  majority  are  drawn 
into  it  only  as  the  straws  in  the  river,  because 
they  always  go  with  the  stream. 

From  this  cause,  we  find  ourselves  in  a 
whirlpool,  we  might  almost  say  a  chaos  of  ar- 
tistic opinions.  A  thousand  schools  contend 
for  mastery,  and  with  a  sublime  catholicity, 
the  thousand  schools  are  admitted  by  the  art- 
devotee  ;  each  one  is  accepted,  each  one  is 
petted  ;  pieces,  illustrative  of  each,  are  careful- 
ly bought  and  highly  prized,  until  our  homes 
come  to  be  almost  like  museums,  or  still  more 
like  those  strange  collections  of  curiosity 
shops,  whither  gravitate  all  objects  of  human 
interest,  and  where  they  are  heaped,  without 
plan  or  method,  or  arrangement — grotesque, 
unutterable,  ludicrous. 

In  some  cases,  individual  artists  are  able  to 
make  themselves  of  such  note  as  to  dominate 
the  rage  for  a  little,  and  even   to   stand  out, 


120  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

prominent  and  observed.  They  may  create  a 
school  of  art,  and  for  a  short  while  impress 
their  manner  upon  the  social  fashion,  but  gen- 
erally the  democratic  tendency  of  the  times  is 
too  strong,  even  for  the  greatest  genius,  and 
he  must  drop  into  the  crowd,  or  wait  for  that 
posterity,  which  will  preserve  his  memory  and 
name,  and  let  the  multitude  go  down  into 
their  proper  and  eternal  oblivion. 

We  have  schools  of  criticism  too.  The  ex- 
igencies of  a  reading  public  react  upon  the 
writers  of  the  day,  and  the  passing  publica- 
tions of  the  hour  must,  of  course,  judge  the 
performance  of  the  artist  and  direct  the  taste 
of  the  people.  Here  and  there  a  skilful  au- 
thor makes  himself  heard.  If  an  honest  and 
strong  man,  he  may  indeed  add  to  the  stock 
of  human  knowledge  in  the  sphere  of  criti- 
cism, but  for  the  most  part  the  roar  and  bab- 
blement of  the  day  are  too  noisy,  and  men 
are  too  hurried  to  care  for  study.  They 
want  something  bright  and  short,  and  appo- 
site ;  and  so  the  patchwork  of  our  instruction 
keeps    continually    growing.     Principles    are 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  121 

ig-nored.  The  great  laws  of  philosophy  are 
known  only  by  the  few.  Profound  investiga- 
tion is  at  a  discount,  and  the  chaos  of  art-pro- 
ductions is  only  equalled  by  the  formless  void 
of  criticisms  upon  them. 

To  this  must  be  added  the  whims  and  fan- 
cies of  the  buyers  and  patrons  of  art.  Power 
to  purchase  does  not  by  any  means  imply 
power  to  judge.  The  necessities  of  uphols- 
tery will  sometimes  determine  the  forma- 
tion of  a  gallery.  Some  men  judge  pictures 
by  the  prices  which  they  have  realized,  and 
it  needs  a  rare  moral  heroism  for  an  artist, 
or  even  for  a  whole  race  of  artists,  to  stand 
up  against  the  influence  of  the  picture-dealer 
and  the  picture-buyer.  Thus  the  lower 
becomes  the  lord  of  the  higher,  and  a  slav- 
ery is  introduced  as  degrading  as  that  which 
belonged  to  the  old  days  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  when  oftentimes  the  scholars,  the 
teachers,  and  the  artists  of  the  age,  were  be- 
neath the  yoke  of  servitude  in  some  patrician 
family. 

In  such  a  condition  of  things  it  may  well 


122  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

seem  hopeless  to  discover  any  relation  be- 
tween religion  and  art.  I  suppose,  the  men- 
tion of  such  relation  will  suggest  to  many 
what  seems  in  our  time  the  only  link  which 
connects  these  two  spheres  of  human  activity 
— namely,  the  use  of  art  for  the  purposes  of 
decorating  the  outer  aspects  of  religious  ser- 
vices. Of  course,  it  will  be  said,  art  comes  in 
very  properly  to  aid  religion,  when  we  build 
fine  churches  or  cathedrals ;  when  we  set  up 
our  painted  windows,  through  which  the  sun- 
light streams,  charged  by  the  tints  of  saints 
and  confessors,  and  angels  with  the  dim  re- 
ligious light  that  fitly  belongs  to  the  solemn 
scenes  of  human  devotion.  Let  the  sculptor 
hew  out  our  altars,  or  carve  into  the  stony 
foliage  the  chapiters  of  columns,  the  bosses 
of  the  leaping  arch.  Summon  the  painter  to 
place  upon  the  walls  the  records  of  the  an- 
cient days  of  faith,  or  even  the  lineaments  of 
Him  whom  we  adore,  or  the  ''  mother  of  God  '* 
and  ''  Queen  of  Heaven."  Have  we  not 
priests  who  minister?  Clothe  them,  then,  in 
beautiful  garments,  and  give  to  the  very  rai- 


RELIGION   AND   ART.  123 

ment  of  the  minister  the  significance  of  the 
office  he  discharges.  And  though  this  may 
belong  rather  to  some  sections  of  the  church, 
who  is  there  that  will  object  to  the  services 
of  the  musician,  that  with  the  strains  of  beauty 
we  may  worship,  or  better  still,  hear  other 
people  worship  God? 

Let  the  pealing  organ  blow 

To  the  full-voic'd  quire  below, 

In  service  high  and  anthems  clear, 

As  they,  with  sweetness  thro'  mine  ear, 

Dissolve  me  into  ecstacies 

And  bring  all  heaven  before  mine  eyes. 

Yes  !  these  are  the  services  which  art  may 
render  to  religion.  But  let  me  at  the  outset 
declare  that  this  is  not  the  relation  which  I 
propose  to  consider.  I  am  not  altogether 
assured  that  such  service  to  relieion  rendered 
by  art  has  been  well  for  either  art  or  religion. 
I  know  how  much  religion  in  all  ages  has 
Inspired  art,  but  it  is  doubtful,  whether  that 
Inspiration  has  not  served  to  cramp  and  to 
narrow  the  energies  of  the  artist,  while  the 
purity  of  religion  has  been  sullied,  and  often. 


124  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

its  spirituality  lost,  by  the  ministration  of  art 
to  the  services  and  forms  of  the  church.  Far 
other  than  this,  far  deeper,  is  that  relation 
which  I  propose  to  discuss.  And  at  the  risk 
of  appearing  very  tedious,  I  must  ask  you  to 
accompany  me  in  that  analysis  by  which  I 
think  we  shall  find  that  the  ultimate  resolution 
of  art  brings  us  to  religion,  and  upon  which 
unity  of  ultimate  cause  I  base  my  appeal  to 
the  artist  on  behalf  of  religion ;  and  even 
more  than  this,  I  shall  claim  from  him  in  his 
fidelity  to  his  own  sphere,  that  service  which 
is  only  truly  rendered  when  it  is  rendered 
to  God  alone. 

When  man  bemns  to  find  himself  in  rela- 
tion  to  the  outer  world,  and  endeavors  to  in- 
terroofate  his  own  consciousness  as  to  the 
effect  produced  upon  him  by  the  influence  of 
those  external  circumstances,  he  first  recog- 
nizes sensations,  each  having  its  own  peculiar 
quality,  and  generally  associated  with  another 
feeling,  that  of  pleasure  or  of  pain ;  in  the 
one  case  tendinof  to  make  him  cease  from 
that  mode  of  sensation,  in  the  other  tending 


RELIGION   AND   ART.  I25 

to  make  him  continue  or  repeat  it.  Upon 
these  sensations  the  human  understandino- 
operates.  We  remember,  we  compare,  we 
abstract,  we  combine,  and  in  process  of  time 
there  is  stored  within  the  mind  a  number  of 
ideas,  judgments,  convictions,  together  with 
certain  habitudes  and  facihties  which  may  be 
set  in  action  by  the  operation  of  outward 
things,  and  even  by  the  voHtion  of  the  man 
himself.  At  length,  in  the  experience  of 
these  conditions  of  consciousness,  we  come 
upon  certain  states  to  which  we  give  peculiar 
titles.  They  are  generally  complex  and  may 
be  produced  by  a  variety  of  different  external 
conditions. 

For  example,  we  look  out  upon  the  sea.  It 
is  a  clear,  sunshiny  day.  A  gentle  breeze  is 
blowing  towards  the  land ;  waves,  not  high  nor 
tempestuous,  break  upon  the  shingly  beach. 
As  they  roll  in,  they  curl  over  and  change 
into  lines  of  crested  foam,  and  then  run  up  the 
shore  like  coursers  with  their  white  manes 
flying  in  the  wind,  while  the  rattle  of  the  peb- 
bles where  they  break,  falls  upon  the  ear  like 


126  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

the  sound  of  far-off  voices.  A  few  clouds  lie 
idly  in  the  sky,  and  cast  their  broad  shadows 
to  deepen  the  sapphire  hue  of  ocean.  Sea- 
birds  wheel  their  flight,  and  ever  and  anon 
sweep  downward  and  touch  the  waters, 
and  gleam,  for  an  instant,  as  they  turn  their 
wings  towards  us  in  the  sun.  A  few  sails 
dot  the  horizon  here  and  there,  while  close 
beneath  us  sails  by  a  lordly  ship,  with  all  her 
canvas  spread,  speeding  to  the  haven  which 
is  concealed  by  yonder  jutting  point  of  land. 
We  gaze  upon  the  scene.  Color,  and  form, 
and  motion,  and  sound,  all  arrest  us.  We  dis- 
tinguish, we  compare,  we  discern,  we  remem- 
ber, we  judge.  But  now  through  all  this, 
there  steals  upon  our  mind  a  sentiment  en- 
tirely its  own — peculiar.  Imperial,  delightful, 
and  we  say.  It  is  beautiful. 

Or  perhaps,  we  look  out  upon  a  crowd  of 
human  beings.  They  are  gathered  for  business 
or  pleasure,  peace  or  war.  Some  we  recog- 
nize, but  the  majority  are  strangers.  We  see 
them  aged,  young,  rich,  poor,  men,  women. 
Suddenly,  our  eyes  fall  upon  one  face,  and  we 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  12/ 

are  riveted  as  by  a  spell.  The  sweep  of  the 
lines  is  so  clear  and  free ;  the  brow  is  white 
and  polished  as  marble,  the  eyes  full,  lus- 
trous, deep  with  hidden  meaning,  and  flash- 
ing with  pleasurable  emotion.  The  colors  of 
the  skin  are  soft  and  delicate,  with  a  bloom 
like  that  of  the  peach.  Now,  the  whole  lights 
up  with  a  smile  that  reveals  the  brilliancy  of 
the  teeth,  anon,  the  brows  knit  and  the  face 
grows  dark  like  the  sky  before  a  storm. 
Separating  from  the  crowd,  we  see  the  per- 
son walk,  lightly,  firm.  The  figure,  com- 
pact and  agile,  moves  with  ease  and  har- 
mony. Strength  seems  to  be  gathered  into 
restfulness,  yet  in  the  repose  of  its  well-bal- 
anced form  the  eye  finds  satisfaction  and 
delight.  For  a  moment,  perhaps,  we  are 
drawn  away  from  the  special  business  of  that 
scene,  and  we  say,  How  beautiful ! 

It  is  not  needful  to  cite  any  other  ex- 
amples. A  score  will  recur  to  you  —  the 
tree  full  of  foliage,  the  garden  of  flowers,  the 
sunrise  on  the  mountains,  the  spreading 
landscape,    the  snow   covered  plain.     These 


128  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

and  many  other  conditions  of  the  outer  world 
will  give  to  us  that  sense  of  the  beautiful,  and 
if  it  be  connected  with  what  is  infinite,  and  out 
of  proportion  to  our  powers,  or  even  to  our 
imagination,  then  we  give  to  it  another  term, 
the  sublime.  This  is  related  to  the  beautiful, 
and  differs  only  in  that  which  we  have  indi- 
cated, the  difference  of  proportion  which  the 
object  bears  to  the  human  mind. 

Now  it  is  hardly  needful  to  show  that  this 
sense  of  the  beautiful  or  the  sublime  is  not 
the  same  as  the  conviction  of  truth  which  be- 
longs to  the  judgment  of  the  understanding. 
To  say  a  thing  is  true  is  not  the  same  as  to 
say  that  it  is  beautiful.  To  be  sure,  the  beau- 
tiful and  the  true  will  always  be  found  to  be 
concurrent  and  in  harmony ;  but  things  may 
be  true  which  are  not  beautiful,  whether  the 
converse  can  be  affirmed  or  not.  Similarly, 
the  beautiful  is  not  the  good.  That  approba- 
tion, that  judgment  of  the  moral  sense  which 
we  affirm  when  we  say  that  a  thing  is  right, 
does  not  imply,  does  not  necessarily  involve 
its  beauty.     Indeed  the  judgment  of  the  good 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  1 29 

may  be  affirmed  where  there  is  no  sentiment 
of  the  beautiful,  however  the  truly  beautiful 
may  always  belong  to  the  sphere  of  the  good. 
These  are  different  sentiments  of  our  nature, 
and  nothing  is  gained  by  confounding  what 
are  essentially  diverse.  Some  have  said  that 
the  useful  is  the  beautiful.  An  appeal  to  ex- 
perience is  only  needed  to  convince  the  can- 
did mind  that  though  it  is  quite  possible  to 
associate  use  and  beauty,  still  in  many  cases 
an  object  may  be  useful  enough  while  its 
beauty  is  far  to  seek.  I  need  hardly  assert 
the  distinction  between  the  beautiful  and  the 
agreeable.  The  latter  is  a  condition  of  sen- 
sation,  and  only  differs  in  different  persons. 
There  is  no  law  of  the  agreeable.  *'  Tastes 
cannot  be  disputed,"  is  not  only  a  proverb 
of  human  experience,  it  is  a  principle  of 
correct  psychology.  But  the  beautiful  is  de- 
terminable. It  has  its  law  definite,  fixed. 
You  may  say  you  do  not  find  such  a  thing 
agreeable,  and  you  speak  out  the  truth  of 
3'our  own  sensation ;  but  to  say  that  you  find 
something  to   be   not   beautiful,  only  proves 


130  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

your  ignorance  and  lack  of  cultivation.  Beau- 
ty is  an  absolute  judgment.  It  is  really  as 
independent  of  us  as  is  the  true  or  the  good. 
It  can  be  resolved  by  no  appeal  to  the 
senses ;  it  is  given  us  only  by  the  affirma- 
tions, the  perceptions  of  the  higher  reason. 
Whilst  thus,  there  is  the  perception  of  the 
beautiful  by  the  reason,  there  is  also  a  delight, 
a  sentiment  of  joy,  which  this  perception  oc- 
casions. It  is  pleasure  or  admiration.  It  is 
the  beginning  of  love.  It  Is  one  of  the  pure, 
serene  dellofhts  of  the  soul.  It  is  not  desire. 
It  springs  from  no  sense  of  need,  no  longing 
to  possess.  It  is  a  pure  enjoyment.  As  says 
the  great  French  philosopher,  "Admiration 
is  In  Its  nature  respectful,  whilst  desire  tends 
to  profane  its  object.''  In  the  presence  of 
beauty  this  sentiment  knows  no  longing.  In 
the  contemplation  of  the  sublime  it  experi- 
ences no  fear.  Such  is  a  very  brief  analysis 
of  the  sentiment  of  the  beautiful  and  sublime 
— the  sentiment  special,  and  the  idea  simple. 
We  need  not  pursue  the  analysis  any  fur- 
ther ;  though  there  is  one  point  which  is  of 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  I3I 

Importance  that  we  reserve,  however,  for  a 
later  consideration. 

Let  us  return  to  our  consideration  of  human 
consciousness  and  endeavor  to  discover  what 
is  the  next  step  in  the  mind  of  him  who  has 
been  impressed  with  this  sense  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  the  sublime.  Remember  man  is  not 
simply  passive.  He  is  more  than  a  mere 
recipient  of  impressions.  There  is  within 
him  a  spring  of  action.  He  has  powers, 
faculties,  and  these  require,  nay,  these  sug- 
gest and  compel  endeavor  on  his  part. 
There  is,  then,  a  prompting  towards  imitation. 
Man  sees  an  action — he  will  try  to  perform 
it.  He  hears  a  sound — he  will  endeavor  to 
imitate  it.  He  beholds  a  scene — he  tries  to 
recall  it,  not  merely  in  the  pages  of  his 
memory  and  within  the  halls  of  the  repre- 
sentative faculties  of  his  mind,  but  he  seeks 
to  make  the  thing  itself,  or  at  least  such 
figures  of  it  as  shall  suffice  to  call  up  again 
In  the  mind  of  the  observer,  sentiments  simi- 
lar to  those  which  he  experienced  when  he 
first  looked  upon  it  In  the    external   world. 


132  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

Man  is  thus  imitative.  He  must  be  himself  a 
maker,  a  creator ;  and  as  he  speaks,  or  draws 
figures,  or  lays  out  land,  or  moulds  forms, 
or  heaps  together  masses,  or  blends  colors — 
what  he  has  seen  or  heard,  he  wishes  to  see 
and  hear  again,  content,  however,  if  the  forms 
of  his  own  fashioning  shall  suofo-est  the  ideas 
and  compel  the  sentiments  which  the  natural 
objects  had  produced. 

But  here  it  must  be  observed  that  man  does 
not  merely  imitate.  He  has  no  power  to 
create  again  the  forms  and  scenes  which  nature 
presented.  The  landscape,  for  example,  was 
beautiful,  sublime,  but  man  cannot  make  a 
landscape.  He  cannot  lift  a  mountain,  de- 
press a  valley,  cut  out  a  river,  pour  out  a 
lake,  or  bid  an  ocean  flow  and  ebb.  Nay, 
not  even  the  smallest  thing  in  nature  can  man 
absolutely  reproduce.  A  single  flower,  a  sim- 
ple leaf,  a  tiny  insect,  are  all  beyond  the  reach 
of  human  faculties,  and  for  that  matter,  man 
cares  not  to  produce  them.  Even  if  he  could 
make  a  leaf,  what  would  be  the  use  of  it  ? 
what  the  pleasure  of  it  ?  It  is  only  one  amid  the 


RELIGION  AND  ART.  1 33 

million  leaves  that  nature  forms  each  spring- 
time, probably,  at  best,  not  one  of  the  most 
beautiful,  the  most  perfect.  What,  if  man 
could  even  reproduce  himself,  bringing-  to- 
gether all  the  bones,  and  tissues,  the  muscles, 
nerves  and  tendons,  covering  the  frame  with 
blooming  skin  and  vitalizing  all  with  the 
breath  of  life — what  after  all  has  he  accom- 
plished, but  to  make  another  man?  This 
were  not  art,  but  only  nature  unnatural — God's 
place  and  work,  occupied  and  interfered  with 
by  one  who  at  best  could  only  use  the  merest 
^prentice  hand  at  making.  It  is  quite  clear 
that  man  does  not  aim  at  imitation.  The 
faculty  which  the  beautiful  wakens  is  some- 
thing other  than  that  which  desires  to  repeat 
the  processes  and  obtain  the  results  of  na- 
ture's workings. 

It  is  the  presence  of  that  other  element,  of 
which  we  spoke  above,  which  really  gives  the 
differentiating  character  to  the  mimetic  ten- 
dency and  direction  of  human  endeavor,  and 
here  let  us  for  a  moment  seek  to  discover  it. 

We  gaze  upon  a  beautiful  scene  of  nature, 


134  SERMONS  TO  STUDENTS. 

a  beautiful  object  of  art,  a  beautiful  face  or 
figure.  What  is  this  beauty  which  we  dis- 
cover ?  What  is  the  real  object  of  that  senti- 
ment which  we  experience  ?  Let  us  resolve 
all  the  forms  and  colors  which  are  thus  blend- 
ed, all  the  sights  and  sounds  which  combine  to 
make  up  this  circumstance  of  beauty,  and  will 
any  of  these,  or  all  of  them,  viewed  merely  as 
sensible  objects,  supply  us  with  that  element 
which  we  seek  ?  Surely  not.  Does  it  not 
seem  to  vanish  as  we  approach  it  ?  Does  it  not 
elude  our  grasp  even  at  the  moment  when  we 
extend  our  hand  to  hold  it?  In  the  physical 
world  we  have  physical  beauty,  in  the  intellect- 
ual world  we  have  intellectual  beauty,  in  the 
moral  world  moral  beauty,  and  yet  the  beauty 
is  not  the  sensible,  nor  the  intellectual,  nor  the 
moral.  If  then  beauty  is  not  given  by  these 
things  in  themselves,  must  we  not  conclude 
that  the  relation  which  the  onlooker  bears  to 
that  which  he  observes  must,  in  some  way, 
supply  the  element  which  we  seek.  In  a 
word,  must  there  not  be  the  percipient  mind 
before  there  can  be  beauty,  and  is  it  not  some- 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  135 

thing  suggested  to  the  mind  over  and  above 
the  mere  congeries  of  external  objects,  which 
is  the  final  element  of  the  beautiful  that  the 
mind  perceives  ?  Is  it  only  the  landscape  ?  is 
it  only  the  fair  face  and  graceful  figure  ?  is  it 
only  the  glistening  sea,  and  the  shining  sky? 
or  does  there  not  break  through  these  forms 
and  aspects  of  external  things  something  that 
is  not  sensible,  not  intellectual,  not  merely 
moral  ?  Is  there  not  indeed,  suggested,  some- 
thing nobler  than  the  landscape,  something 
purer  than  the  face  of  perfect  beauty,  some- 
thing higher  even  than  the  action  of  noblest 
virtue  ?  In  a  word,  does  not  the  beautiful  con- 
tain or  at  least  involve  the  ideal  ?  The  scene 
of  nature  invests  a  presence,  the  face  of  man 
bespeaks  a  soul,  the  deed  of  goodness  sug- 
gests a  God.  None  of  these  things  fully  con- 
tent us.  Their  very  beauty  suggests  to  us 
something  towards  which  they  rise  even 
though  they  do  not  attain  unto  it,  and  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  real  seems  to  be 
touching  the  ideal,  then  the  latter  escapes  and 
is  lost  to  us  above  the  upper  air. 


136  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

Now  I  think  you  will  see  the  necessity  and 
the  law  of  art.  In  the  first  place,  man  en- 
deavors to  gain  this  ideal,  himself  to  enform 
it.  He  loves  it,  and  though  it  is  suggested 
to  him  in  nature  around  him,  he  would  fain 
himself  create  that  which  should  express  this 
ideal.  He  imitates  nature,  and  it  must  be 
by  form  or  color,  by  sound  or  sight,  that  he 
must  effect  this.  To  imitate  nature  exactly, 
with  copy  and  counterpart  that  should  only 
be  the  repetition  of  nature,  would  be  certainly 
to  fail  of  the  realization  of  the  ideal ;  for  na- 
ture herself  has  failed  before  him,  and  how 
can  he  expect  to  succeed  where  the  great 
artist  has  not  attained?  He  frees  himself 
from  nature,  wherever  she  has  added  to  her 
works  what  is  not  needed  for  the  ideal,  and 
then  giving  freedom  to  imagination,  he  en- 
deavors to  express  in  such  methods  as  he 
chooses  from  amongst  nature's  own  workings, 
that  ideal  with  which  nature's  own  finished 
scenes  at  first  supplied  him. 

And  this  becomes,  as  we  have  said,  the 
law  of  the  activity  of  the  artist.     He  endeav- 


RELIGION   AND   ART.  137 

ors  to  express  the  ideal  by  such  imitations  of 
nature  as  are  sufficient  to  su^eest  the  beauti- 
ful.  To  try  to  do  more  than  this  is  to  fly 
Icarus-h*ke  too  near  the  sun,  and  to  fall  dis- 
honored and  destroyed  in  some  deep  sea. 
To  do  less  than  this  is  to  be  a  mere  artificer, 
a  workman,  a  laborer,  perhaps  an  artiste,  but 
not  an  artist.  These,  sublimest  of  all  human 
kind,  know  only  perpetual  endeavor,  perpet- 
ual failure.  Their  triumph,  their  perfect  real- 
ization, is  only  when  they,  as  all,  shall  gaze 
upon  the  face  of  God,  and  for  this,  none  can  be 
made  fit,  except  by  passing  from  this  nature 
through  the  low  portal  of  all-revealing  death. 

We  are  now  prepared  for  a  definition  of 
art,  and  with  that,  our  analysis  of  the  objects 
of  art,  for  the  present,  will  be  sufficient.  Art 
is  that  free  energy  of  man,  whereby  he  seeks 
to  express  his  sense  of  the  ideal,  and  to  pro- 
duce in  others  the  sentiment  of  the  beautiful 
and  the  sublime. 

This  is  our  natural  passage  to  the  showing 
of  that  relation  between  religion  and  art, 
which  we  are  now,  I  think,  able  to  perceive. 


138  SERMONS   TO  STUDENTS. 

For  what  is  this  ideal  ?  Surely  it  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  see  that  nothing  less  than  God,  can 
be  the  ideal  of  beauty.  For  the  ideal  must 
be  the  highest ;  we  cannot  permit  any  rest  for 
the  mind  that  is  seeking  in  the  beautiful  the 
ever  more  beautiful,  and  the  highest  must  be 
God.  The  ideal  also  must  be  infinite,  for  in 
all  conceptions  of  the  sublime,  anything  that 
is  finite,  even  the  greatest  conceivable,  is  still 
in  relation  to  our  faculties,  and  is  therefore  no 
longer  the  sublime.  The  infinite,  then,  can 
only  be  God.  The  ideal,  moreover,  must  be 
unity,  for  a  comparison  of  ideals  must  issue 
in  the  preference  of  one  to  the  other — equals 
being  impossible  by  the  very  terms  of  the 
problem,  and  the  only  One  is  God.  The  ideal, 
too,  must  finally  be  perfect,  for  the  imperfect 
is  realizable,  and  as  such  becomes  only  the 
object  which  suggests  the  ideal,  and  is  not 
the  ideal  itself — and  the  perfect  assuredly  is 
God.  God  is  then  the  ideal  beautiful. 
Towards  Him  all  forms  of  grace  and  beauty 
point.  They  are  naught  but  the  garments 
which  he  wears,  naught  but  the  beam  of  His 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  1 39 

celestial  light.  The  beauty  of  intellectual 
objects  is  only  the  suggested  truth  of  God's 
own  nature.  They  speak  His  words,  they 
reveal  His  mind.  And  what  is  goodness  but 
the  showing  of  His  eternal  purity  and  per- 
fectness  ?  He  is  strong  in  all  strong  things, 
virtuous  in  all  the  virtues,  gracious  in  the 
graces,  holy  in  the  holiness  of  each. 

Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light 

Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see, 
Its  glow  by  day,  its  smile  by  night, 

Are  but  reflections  caught  from  Thee ; 
Where'er  we  turn  Thy  glories  shine, 
And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  Thine. 

When  day  with  farewell  beam  delays 

Among  the  opening  clouds  of  even, 
And  we  can  almost  think  we  gaze 

Through  golden  vistas  into  heaven. 
Those  hues  that  make  the  sun's  decline 
So  soft,  so  radiant,  Lord,  are  Thine. 

When  night  with  wings  of  starry  gloom 

O'ershadows  all  the  earth  and  skies, 
Like  some  dark  beauteous  bird,  whose  plume 

Is  sparkling  with  unnumbered  eyes, 
That  sacred  gloom,  those  fires  divine. 
So  grand,  so  countless,  Lord,  are  Thine. 


140  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

When  youthful  spring  around  us  breathes, 

Thy  spirit  warms  her  fragrant  sigh, 
And  every  flower  the  summer  wreathes, 

Is  born  beneath  that  kindhng  eye  ; 
Where'er  we  turn  Thy  glories  shine, 
And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  Thine. 

— Thomas  Moore,  i8i6. 

It  will  be  hardly  needful  for  me  to  illustrate 
my  argument  by  some  example,  but  those  of 
you  who  are  familiar  with  the  noblest  achieve- 
ments of  the  ancient  artists  (who  continue  for 
ever  the  teachers  of  art  to  the  whole  world) 
can  easily  read  between  my  lines  the  interpre- 
tations of  some  of  their  great  works  which 
have  remained  to  us  until  this  time. 

I  once  took  a  child  through  the  gallery  and 
hall  devoted  to  ancient  sculpture  in  the  British 
Museum.  When  I  asked  her,  at  the  close  of 
our  visit,  what  she  thought  of  the  various 
statues  she  had  seen,  she  replied :  ''  They 
seemed  to  be  all  on  tip-toe — as  if  they  were 
reaching  up  to  something.''  There  could  not 
be  in  child-language  a  better  description  of 
the  true  siornificance  of  the  hio^-hest  art.  It  is 
the  endeavor  to  express  that  ideal  after  which 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  141 

the  mind  ever  seeks,  even  thoueh  in  the  at- 
tempt  our  highest  effort  is  frustrated  and  falls 
short  of  what  we  would  accomplish.  An  art 
that  absolutely  succeeds  is  impossible.  An 
art  that  is  content  is  self-condemned. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  effect  which  was 
produced  upon  my  mind  when  I  first  saw  the 
Apollo  Belvedere.  Is  it  indeed  the  Apollo  ? 
the  Sun-God,  the  swift  divinity  of  splendor, 
beauty,  life  ?  Seek  to  catch  the  prevailing 
tone  of  that  countenance,  and  it  will  elude 
you.  Is  it  scorn  or  anger?  Is  it  a  noble  in- 
dignation touched  by  some  soft  lines  that  I 
fain  would  distinguish.  But  all  the  char- 
acters of  face,  and  head,  and  limb,  and  body 
only  breathe  that  uplifting,  that  soaring  spirit 
which  the  highest  art  must  ever  express. 
When  the  Ephesian  had  finished  his  work, 
did  he  weep,  I  wonder,  or  did  he  worship  ? 
Tears  for  the  power  that  failed  to  express  all 
the  divine — adoration  for  the  divine  that  is  in 
the  ideal  of  the  work  ?  The  sphere  of  art  is 
a  lower  heaven,  midway  between  the  earth  in 
which  we  dwell  and  the  highest  glory  wherein 


142  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

hidden,  even  by  the  light  unapproachable,  is 
the  everlasting  God. 

It  may  be,  perhaps,  well  to  enforce  my 
views  by  the  authority  of  one  of  the  greatest 
art-critics.     Winckelmann  says : 

"  Among  all  the  works  of  antiquity  that  have  es- 
caped destruction  the  statue  of  Apollo  is  the  highest 
ideal  of  art.  The  artist  has  constructed  this  work 
entirely  on  the  ideal,  and  has  employed  in  its  struc- 
ture just  so  much  only  of  the  material  as  was  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  his  design  and  render  it  visible. 
This  Apollo  excels  all  other  figures  of  him  as  much 
as  the  Apollo  of  Homer  excels  him  whom  later  poets 
paint.  His  stature  is  loftier  than  that  of  man,  and 
his  attitude  speaks  of  the  greatness  with  which  he  is 
filled.  An  eternal  spring,  as  in  the  happy  fields  of 
Elysium,  clothes  with  the  charm  of  youth  the  grace- 
ful manliness  of  ripened  years,  and  plays  with  soft- 
ness and  tenderness  about  the  proud  shape  of  his 
limbs.  Let  thy  spirit  penetrate  into  the  kingdom  of 
corporeal  beauties,  and  strive  to  become  a  creator  of  a 
heavenly  nature,  in  order  that  thy  mind  may  be  filled 
with  beauties  that  are  elevated  above  nature,  for  there 
is  nothing  mortal  here  which  human  necessities  re- 
quire. Neither  bloodvessels  nor  sinews  heat  and  stir 
the  body,  but  a  heavenly  essence,  diffusing  itself  like 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  1 43 

a  gentle  stream,  seems  to  fill  the  whole  contour  of  the 
figure.  He  has  pursued  the  Python  against  which 
he  uses  his  bow  for  the  first  time  ;  with  vigorous  step 
he  has  overtaken  the  monster  and  slain  it.  His  lofty 
look,  filled  with  a  consciousness  of  power,  seems  to 
rise  far  above  his  victory  and  to  gaze  into  infinity. 
Scorn  sits  upon  his  lips,  and  his  nostrils  are  swelling 
with  suppressed  anger  which  mounts  even  to  the 
proud  forehead  ;  but  the  peace  w^hich  floats  upon  it 
in  blissful  calm  remains  undisturbed,  and  his  eye  is 
full  of  sweetness,  as  when  the  Muses  gathered  round 
him  seeking  to  embrace  him.  The  father  of  the  gods, 
in  all  the  images  of  him  which  we  have  remaining 
and  which  art  venerates,  does  not  approach  so  nearly 
the  grandeur  in  which  he  manifested  himself  to  the 
understanding  of  the  divine  poet  as  he  does  here  in 
the  countenance  of  his  son,  and  the  individual  beau- 
ties of  the  other  deities  are  here  as  in  the  person  of 
Pandora  assembled  together  ;  a  forehead  of  Jupiter, 
pregnant  with  the  goddess  of  wisdom,  and  eyebrows 
the  contractions  of  which  express  their  will,  the 
grandly  arched  eyes  of  the  queen  of  the  gods,  and  a 
mouth  shaped  like  that  whose  touch  stirred  with  de- 
light the  loved  Branchus.  The  soft  hair  plays  about 
the  divine  head  as  if  agitated  by  a  gentle  breeze,  like 
the  slender  waving  tendrils  of  the  noble  vine  ;  it 
seems  to  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of  the  gods,  and 
tied  by  the  Graces  with  pleasing  display  on  the  crown 


144  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

of  his  head.  In  the  presence  of  this  miracle  of  art  I 
forget  all  else,  and  I  myself  take  a  lofty  position,  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  upon  it  in  a  worthy  manner. 
My  breast  seems  to  enlarge  and  swell  with  reverence, 
like  the  breasts  of  those  who  were  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  and  I  feel  myself  transported  to 
Delos  and  into  the  ^gean  groves,  places  which 
Apollo  honored  by  his  presence,  for  my  image  seems 
to  receive  life  and  motion  like  the  beautiful  creation 
of  Pygmalion.  How  is  it  possible  to  paint  and  de- 
scribe it  !  Art  itself  must  counsel  me,  and  guide  my 
hand  in  filling  up  hereafter  the  first  outlines  which  I 
have  here  sketched.  As  they  who  were  unable  to 
reach  the  heads  of  the  divinities  which  they  wished 
to  crown  deposited  the  garlands  at  the  feet  of  them, 
so  I  place  at  the  feet  of  this  image  the  conception 
which  I  have  presented  of  it."  * 

What  then  are  the  practical  results  which 
we  adduce  from  the  analysis  ?  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  clear  that  religion  and  art  can  never 
be  opposed!'  There  is  something  of  a  tendency 
in  our  time  to  suppose  that  art  must  be  freed 

*  Winckelmann's  History  of  Ancient  Art,  Lodge's  translation, 
Book  XL,  Chap.  III.,  Sect.  II.  See  this  passage,  also  quoted  in 
Cousin's  Lectures  on  *♦  The  True,  The  Beautiful,  The  Good,"  to 
which  very  suggestive  work  I  acknowledge  great  indebtedness,  and 
to  the  careful  study  of  which  I  would  direct  the  student. 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  145 

from  the  shackles  of  religion,  even  from  the  re- 
straints of  morality.  Nay,  in  some  quarters  this 
is  pushed  into  the  extreme  of  making  art  almost 
a  protest  against  good  morals  and  reHgion. 
The  painter,  the  poet,  must  be  pagan,  in  that 
sense  of  pagan  which  is  actually  atheistic. 
They  must  only  express  what  is  sensual, 
Insphering  the  simply  material  in  the  glory 
and  life  of  music  and  color.  Against  this,  his- 
tory is  so  directly  counter,  that  I  need  hardly 
appeal  to  the  principles  of  philosophy,  but 
I  am  bold  to  affirm  that  never  was  there  a 
theory  which,  if  adopted  by  the  artist,  would 
prove  more  poisonous  and  deadly  than  this. 
Art  would  soon  become  only  the  minion  of 
human  grossness  and  shame.  Genius  would 
sink  into  the  mire  of  sensuality,  and  the  dis- 
honor of  the  artist  would  be  complete,  when 
his  greatest  triumphs  should  be  reserved  for 
the  decorations,  suitable  only  to  the  debauches 
of  harlotry,  and  the  strains  of  heavenly  music 
should  be  discorded  down  to  the  Incoherent 
utterances  of  the  orgies  of  a  beast. 

But  art   and   religion  are  never   opposed. 


146  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

The  ends  of  each  are  one.  The  ideal  of  the 
former  is  sought  by  genius,  and  is  found  only 
in  God.  Worship  is  the  expression  of  the 
faith  of  the  latter,  and  that  too  seeks  for 
the  Eternal  One.  The  ancient  masters  were 
almost  priests.  Not  without  significance 
were  they  inspired  for  their  mightiest  en- 
deavors by  the  solemn  acts  of  an  earnest 
devotion.  The  spirit  which  has  sought  and 
found  its  God  in  prayer,  should  not  any  the 
less  worthily  yearn  for  the  ideal  of  beauty 
which  nature  suofSfests  and  art  endeavors  to 
unfold.  To  believe  in  God,  to  seek  Him,  will 
at  least,  forever  conserve  the  soul  in  the  re- 
cognition that  there  is  an  ideal,  and  he  who 
once  forgets  that,  or  ceases  to  aim  at  it,  must 
take  off  his  artist  dress  and  fall  back  among 
the  common  herd.  Schiller  sang  truly  that 
for  the  poet,  Jove's  invitation  was  ever  given : 

*^  Poet,  wilt  thou  with  me  dwell  in  my  heaven  ? 
Oft  as  thou  comest,  open  it  shall  be." 

Silence  may  well  fall  upon  the  singer  if 
once  he  holds   that  there   is  no  heaven,  and 


RELIGION  AND   ART.  14/ 

that  there  is  no  God  by  whose  side  he  may 
proudly  sit,  his  dearest  earthly  son. 

I  shall  not  here  enter  into  the  vexed  ques- 
tion whether  the  artist  must  obey  any  laws  but 
those  that  govern  his  art.  I  will  simply  affirm 
my  conviction,  that  true  art  is  self-sufficient, 
and  to  aim  at  anything  else  than  what  art  de- 
mands, will  be  to  cripple  and  harass  the  artist 
and  spoil  his  work.  But,  while  it  is  true  that 
the  artist  must  not  be  a  moralist,  it  is  also  true 
that  he  must  not  be  immoral.  This  is  the 
same  error,  only  committed  against  morality 
instead  of  for  it — an  error  which,  were  it  not 
so  fatal  in  its  results,  would  be  amusing  as  ex- 
emplified by  the  licentious  poets  and  painters 
of  this  age.  It  is  enough  surely  for  me,  to 
warn  the  careful  student  against  both  mis- 
takes. They  illustrate  the  old  proverb  of  the 
meeting  of  extremes,  in  a  most  noteworthy 
way. 

And  then,  finally,  it  naturally  arises  from  all 
that  has  been  said,  that  the  religious  habit  of 
life  must  be  of  important  practical  avail  to  the 
worker   in    art.     Success    depends  much    on 


148  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

temper — that  condition  of  character  which  is 
found  in  moral  equipoise  and  self-control. 
Beauty  is  a  delicate  and  evanescent  thing.  It 
withdraws  from  the  coarse  and  the  contentious, 
the  unlovely  and  the  violent.  Very  much,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  brought  by  the  eye  which 
contemplates,  the  mind  which  observes.  And 
what  shall  so  purge  the  nature  of  the  motes 
and  beams  wherewith  no  man  can  clearly  see, 
as  a  faith  in  God  and  a  humble  worship  of  the 
divine  King?  This  gives  tenderness  and 
zeal,  and  the  artist  must  be  tender  and  his 
nature  must  be  aflame  with  a  pure  ardor. 
Art  is  a  vain  pursuit  if  there  be  not  honesty 
and  singleness  of  purpose,  and  he  who  knows 
God  and  serves  Him  can  alone  be  simple, 
true,  and  virtuous.  Art  must  be  free,  and  the 
freeman  is  none  other  than  he,  whom  the  truth 
has  made  free.  Over  such  a  soul,  low  ends, 
imperfect  endeavors,  the  gross  passions,  which 
physical  beauties  unidealized  easily  summon, 
will  have  no  control.  On  his  canvases  nat- 
ure herself  will  pour  her  inspiration  ;  in  his 
sculpture,  the  divine  life  itself  will  breathe  ; 


RELIGION   AND   ART.  149 

while  the  music  that  he  sines  will  be  the 
echoes — not  faint  and  distant,  but  full  and  un- 
broken— of  the  celestial  strains  that  forever 
resound  about  the  throne  of  God. 

An  artist  once  painted  a  picture  of  the  last 
supper.  He  had  bent  all  his  power  upon  the 
central  figure,  and  especially  upon  the  head  of 
the  Christ.  It  was  his  habit  to  mingle  with  the 
crowd  that  surrounded  his  works  in  the  ex- 
hibition, and  listen  to  the  remarks  which  fell 
from  the  lips  of  the  observers.  When  the  pic- 
ture was  uncovered,  and  the  people  pressed 
to  look,  according  to  his  custom,  he  placed 
himself  among  them,  and  listened.  Many 
things  were  said,  but  at  last  he  heard  one 
man  exclaim  in  wonder  and  admiration  at  the 
execution  of  the  cup  which  was  held  in  the 
hand  of  our  Lord.  It  was  indeed  a  marvel- 
lous piece  of  painting,  but  the  artist  went 
home  disappointed,  lamenting  his  failure, 
''  for,"  said  he,  ''  I  wanted  no  one  to  see  any- 
thing but  the  face  of  the  Christ."  Ah  my 
friends !  is  there  no  profound  lesson  here 
for  you,  for  us  all  ?      That  is  the  ideal  of  life 


ISO  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

and  beauty.  The  old  artists  knew  it,  and 
they  painted  and  adored.  Let  that  be  the 
supreme  object  of  your  devotion.  As  artists, 
you  will  find  nothing  nobler  than  the  Christ  ; 
as  men,  you  will  find  nothing  diviner  than  that 
Divine  Man.  In  Him,  your  art  has  its  noblest 
subject ;  in  Him,  your  life  can  find  its  only  true 
end  and  glory. 


RELIGIOUS  AND  IRRELIGIOUS 
THEOLOGY. 


I.  Timothy  I.,  17. — "Now  unto  the  King  eternal,  im- 
mortal, invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  be  honor 
and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 


VI. 

RELIGIOUS     AND     IRRELIGIOUS 
THEOLOGY. 

Among  the  subjects  which  have  occupied 
our  attention  in  these  sermons  to  students, 
there  is  not  one  that  is  so  specific,  and  yet  so 
general  in  its  aspects,  as  that  which  we  con- 
sider to-day.  The  theological  student,  almost 
in  every  case  preparing  for  the  profession  of 
a  Christian  minister,  is  supposed  to  be  the 
most  professional  among  students,  and  is 
looking  forward  to  entering  a  class  which  is 
most  marked.  Indeed,  the  clerical  order 
alone,  retains  any  distinguishing  garb,  and 
generally  prosecutes  its  studies  in  seminaries 
set  apart  for  its  own  special  use.  Other  pro- 
fessions merge  in  the  general  run  of  mankind, 
but  the  ministry  cannot  divest  itself  of  its 
notions  of  exclusiveness,  cannot  be  free  from 

the  old  ideas  of  caste. 

7* 


154  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  marked  character 
of  the  profession,  the  secluded  method  of 
their  study,  the  subject  which  is  emphatically 
theirs — namely,  theology — is  perhaps  more 
widely  treated,  and  enters  more  deeply  into 
the  thoughts  and  pursuits  of  all  cultured  per- 
sons, than  any  of  its  sisters.  Theology  is 
properly  the  science  which  is  conversant  with 
the  nature  and  actions  of  God  and  His  rela- 
tions to  men,  and  these  are  the  ultimate 
questions  of  all  human  thought.  Every  study 
runs  up  to  this ;  every  thinker,  speaker, 
writer,  treats  more  or  less  distinctly  of  the 
being  and  the  laws  of  God.  All  of  you  who 
hear  me  are  students  of  theology.  The  sub- 
ject of  our  discourse,  therefore,  is  of  universal 
interest  and  importance. 

We  have  said  that  theology  is  a  science. 
It  is  sometimes  held,  nowadays,  that  a  science 
of  theology  is  impossible.  In  former  times, 
this  branch  of  human  knowledge  was  recog- 
nized as  the  very  queen  of  all  the  sciences  ; 
but  now  her  claims  are  disputed,  and  by  some 
she  is  even  cast  out  of  the  sacred  circle  alto- 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      1 55 

gether.  Of  course,  if  we  limit  the  term 
science  to  mere  objects  of  sense,  if  we  deny 
altogether  the  possibility  of  the  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things,  if  space  and  time  are  the 
only  modes  of  existence,  and  matter  and 
motion  the  only  objects  of  human  thought 
— then,  indeed,  theology  may  well  cease  to 
be  a  science,  although,  when  it  is  thus  abol- 
ished, its  twin  sisters,  philosophy  and  meta- 
physics, must  be  in  like  manner  destroyed. 
The  discussion,  however,  of  this  topic  does 
not  fall  within  our  province  now.  We  need 
only  remark  that,  necessarily,  the  power  of 
verifying  our  results  in  theological  investiga- 
tion is  limited  altogether  to  the  sphere  of  ex- 
perience. We  cannot  experiment,  and  are 
precluded  from  adopting  some  of  the  methods 
of  scientific  procedure  which  are  applicable  in 
the  physical  sciences.  However,  we  are  able 
to  test  our  theology  by  careful  observation 
of  that  practical  life  which  is  the  result  of 
theological  knowledge,  or  the  theory  of  which 
is  found  by  theological  investigation.  If  the- 
ology is  the  knowledge  of  facts  upon  which 


156  SERMONS  TO  STUDENTS. 

religion  depends,  or  if  theology  is  the  science 
of  religion,  then  we  have  in  the  phenomena 
of  religion  the  materials  of  theology,  and  in 
the  same  phenomena  the  tests  of  our  theolo- 
gical correctness. 

What,  then,  is  the  relation  of  religion  to 
theology?  They  are  not  to  be  confounded  for 
a  moment.  A  knowledge  of  theology  is  by 
no  means  a  proof  of  religious  character,  and 
many  men  are  religious  who  are  quite  desti- 
tute of  any  scientific  theology.  Theology 
and  religion  are  related  to  each  other  as 
science  and  art,  theory  and  practice,  knowl- 
edge and  life.  Religion  is  character  and 
conduct,  inspiration,  conviction,  obedience  to 
law,  fulfilment  of  duty,  worship,  prayer, 
praise,  a  holy  living,  a  triumphant  dying. 
Theology  sets  forth  those  principles  upon 
which  such  life  depends.  It  arranges  in  order 
the  truths  which  are  seen  in  such  conduct, 
and  considers  the  laws  which  govern  it.  Al- 
though it  must  not  be  supposed  that  theology 
is  the  science  of  religion  simply,  yet  it  em- 
braces this  as  one  of  its  important  divisions. 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      15/ 

Theology  deals  with  the  nature  of  God, 
and  His  relation  to  man.'  As  every  science  is 
dependent  upon  facts,  theology  has  its  facts, 
which  to  arrange,  classify,  and  explain,  are 
the  functions  of  this  noble  pursuit.  The 
sources  of  it  are  found  in  the  objects  around 
us — in  nature,  and  the  works  of  nature  ;  in 
consciousness,  that  world  within,  equal,  even 
superior,  to  the  wondrous  world  without. 
Theology  finds  also  its  material  in  the  history 
of  mankind,  and  finally  and  chiefly,  in  the 
revelation  which  God  has  made  of  Himself  to 
the  human  family.  As  we  have  said,  it  is,  in 
the  very  nature  of  the  thing,  unverifiable  by 
experiment ;  but  its  results  may  be  tested  by 
the  illustrations  of  its  truths,  afforded  in  the 
practice  of  religion.  The  student  of  theology, 
indeed,  every  thoughtful  man,  will  apply  these 
tests  to  his  thinkings  upon  the  most  moment- 
ous themes  which  can  occupy  human  intelli- 
gence. To  some  of  these  I  desire  to  direct 
your  attention.  They  will  be  guides  to  our 
way,  often  rugged,  steep,  and  in  a  shad- 
owy twilight.     It  will    be  well  ever   to    ask 


158  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

ourselves,  whether  the  theology  which  we 
profess  and  teach  be  religious  or  irreligious. 
Will  it  deepen  conviction  of  duty  towards 
God  ?  will  it  draw  us  nearer  to  the  Eternal  ? 
will  it  fill  our  hearts  with  a  profounder  con- 
sciousness of  His  presence,  His  strength,  His 
grace  ?  Then,  indeed,  we  may  be  sure  that 
our  knowledge  is  true  knowledge,  for  it 
has  its  blossom,  flower,  and  fruit  in  the  holi- 
ness and  perfection  of  a  Divine  life. 

Our  limits  of  time  will  allow  of  a  reference 
to  only  three  tests  of  theological  truth. 

In  the  first  place,  it  will  be  an  irreligious 
theology  if  it  furnishes  tis  zvith  such  an  idea 
of  God  as  will  not  lead  to  a  service  of  Him 
that  is  imiversal. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  if  there  be  a  God  at 
all,  and  if  He  comes  into  any  relationship  to 
man,  He  must  be  a  God  who  is  the  God  of 
all  men,  who  demands  the  service  of  all,  who 
is  willing  to  receive  all,  and  acts  in  relation 
to  all.  No  conception  of  humanity  is  possible 
which  excludes  any  portion  of  the  race  from 
equal  rights  and  equal  duties  in  the  sight  of 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     1 59 

the  Creator  and  Governor  of  all  men.  A 
God  related  to  some,  and  not  to  all,  is  surely 
no  God — no  God  who  can  demand  allegiance, 
require  obedience,  and  ask  for  worship. 
The  polytheism  of  the  ancient  world  is  thus  a 
theology  which  cannot  be  accepted  for  an 
instant.  Its  partiality,  its  circumscribed 
spheres  of  operation,  its  inhumanity,  stamp  it 
with  untruthfulness,  and  the  history  of  its 
development  is  the  best  proof  of  its  falsehood. 
Its  rites  degenerate  into  orgies  without  the 
possibility  of  reformation,  its  corruptions  at 
last  issue  in  complete  decay,  and  it  vanishes 
before  the  truth  as  the  shadow  of  night 
before  the  advancing  sunshine. 

But  monotheistic  theology  may  be  quite  as 
irreligious  as  polytheism,  and  as  little  truth- 
ful (except  in  its  declaration  of  the  oneness  of 
God),  as  the  errors  which  it  has  supplanted,  at 
least,  in  the  civilized  world.  A  theology 
which  represents  God  in  His  relation  to  man 
as  partial,  as  choosing  some  and  rejecting 
others,  giving  ordinances  which  necessarily 
determine  the  eternal  absence  of  some  of  His 


l6o  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

creatures  from  His  grace  and  favor — In  a 
word,  which  presents  the  natural  relation  of 
some  to  God  as  different  from  that  of  others, 
so  that  some  can  worship  Him  but  others 
cannot,  in  any  real  sense  of  that  term, — such 
a  theology  Is  irreligious,  and  certainly  untrue. 
Here,  perhaps,  a  cautionary  word  upon 
what  is  called  anthropomorphism  may  be  of 
use.  Anthropomorphic  views  of  the  Divine 
nature  are  such  as  conceive  of  the  attributes 
of  God  as  being  like  those  of  men  ;  so  that 
we  speak  of  God's  love,  justice,  and  power, 
as  we  speak  of  the  love,  justice,  and  power 
which  men  may  display.  According  to  some, 
this  is  incorrect — indeed,  verges  upon  idola- 
try— and  leads  us  to  think  of  God  as  nothing 
more  that  a  maofnified  man.  But  it  Is  clear 
that  if  we  think  of  God  at  all,  we  must  think 
of  Him  in  relation  to  us,  and  In  some  sort 
anthropomorphic  views  of  God  are  necessary. 
Indeed,  they  are  also  true,  for  on  the  moral 
side  of  our  nature  we  are  like  God  ;  we  are 
the  sons  of  God  and  possess  the  Divine  life. 
But   while    anthropomorphism    is     necessary 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      l6l 

and  philosophic,  it  may  be  seriously  abused. 
We  must  ever  guard  against  supposing  that 
any  of  our  conceptions  of  the  attributes  of 
God  are  complete  and  adequate  to  His  essen- 
tial nature.  They  are  still  only  sides  of  the 
Divine  Being  viewed  in  their  relation  to  us, 
and  therefore,  anything  which  partakes  of 
the  nature  of  what  has  been  called  a  '*  conflict 
among  the  attributes,"  is  alien,  even  horrible, 
to  the  thought  of  Him  who  is  ever  holy, 
blessed,  calm,  serene.  We  must  be  careful, 
therefore,  not  to  set  forth  any  view  of  God  so 
that  we  shall  come  to  unworthy  views  of 
other  aspects  of  His  being.  In  the  Divine 
nature  there  is  an  absolute  unity,  whereby,  in 
fact,  the  various  attributes  are  one.  We  may 
conceive  of  Him  as  thus  varied,  with  diverse 
powers,  but  the  Eternal  God  is  for  ever  one 
in  nature,  absolutely  one  in  the  harmony  and 
unity  of  His  being. 

From  this  it  follows  that  God  must  ever  act 
towards  men  with  benevolence  and  justice. 
The  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth  will  do 
right,  and  His   loving  kindness  will  ever  be 


l62  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

over  all  His  works.  Anything  partial,  any- 
thing which  is  like  favoritism,  the  neglect  of 
any,  the  furtherance  of  some,  is  irreligious, 
not  to  say  immoral,  and  theology  must  be 
jealously  guarded  against  the  approach  to 
such  an  error  and  confusion. 

It  may  be  here  objected  that  such  a  limita- 
tion of  the  revelation  of  God's  will  to  man  has 
marked  the  teaching  of  the  Scripture.  There 
we  find  that  He  spoke  only  to  certain  persons, 
and  through  them  to  a  small  and  insignificant 
nation ;  that  His  revelation  was  not  made  to 
all  men,  and  that  in  the  final  manifestation  of 
Himself  through  Jesus  Christ  to  His  Church 
it  is  still  with  limits,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
only  a  very  small  portion  of  mankind  have 
been  made  to  know  the  grace  of  God.  This, 
indeed,  is  a  form  of  objection  which  is  some- 
times taken  by  the  infidel  against  the  whole 
scheme  of  revelation,  which  is  said  to  be  par- 
tial and  limited,  while  it  ought  to  be  universal. 
But  the  error  of  both  objectors  is  the  con- 
clusion that  revelation  has  been  partial. 
In   the    first    place,   there    is    nothing   which 


RELIGIOUS  AND  IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     1 63 

excludes  any  one  from  the  grace  of  God. 
Even  Judaism  was  able  to  receive,  and  did 
receive,  persons  from  every  nation  within  it- 
self, and  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  privileges ; 
while  running  side  by  side  with  the  specific 
system  of  the  Mosaic  order,  we  find  that  God 
was  operating  upon  people  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, teaching,  guiding,  and  blessing  them. 
And  who  shall  define  the  precise  lines  at 
which  the  Divine  treatment  of  man,  as  man, 
begins  and  ends  ? 

In  Christianity  we  have  a  religion  which 
claims  the  whole  world,  and  is  specially 
declared  to  rest  upon  the  truth  that  ''  God 
so  loved  ^/le  world  .  .  .  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life."  The  mode  by  which  God  intends  to  in- 
clude all  men  within  His  grace  we  cannot  dis- 
cuss. Moral  forces  work  ever  according  to 
laws  of  development,  and  that  a  little  one 
should  become  a  thousand,  and  that  a  small 
stone  hewed  out  of  the  rock  should  fill  the 
earth — these  are  ways  in  which  God  has 
chosen  to  work,  and  yet  we  know  that  the 


l64  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

religion  itself  which  is  thus  made  to  pass 
through  processes  of  growth  is  absolutely- 
universal,  and  must  extend  to  every  man.  It 
is  an  interesting  subject  of  research  to  find 
out  how  far,  even  ncrw,  while  Christianity- 
seems  to  be  only  partial,  the  work  and  influ- 
ence of  Jesus  Christ  are  yet  powerful  among 
those  who  have  not  known  Him  by  name, 
and  do  not  at  all  recognize  that,  in  and 
through  Him,  God  is  operating  even  upon 
them.  Of  this  at  least  we  may  be  sure: 
God's  grace,  the  scientific  knowledge  of  which 
is  Scriptural  theology,  is  as  universal  as  man- 
kind, and  leaves  out  no  place,  no  time,  no 
people,  in  the  sweep  of  its  effectiveness. 

2.  The  second  test  which  we  may  apply 
to  our  theology  is,  that  it  will  be  irreligious 
tf  it  is  not  in  h'ar^nony  with  the  other  spheres 
of  human  thozight  and  life  in  which  we 
obtai7i  knowledge  of  truth.  Truth  is  dis- 
covered in  other  fields  of  activity  than  merely 
those  of  religion  and  theology.  We  find  it 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  we  gain  it  also  from  the 
works  of  God.     It  may  be  gathered  from  the 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     165 

development  of  religion  amongst  mankind, 
but  it  is  also  derived  from  a  study  of  the 
social  and  political  life  of  men.  But  of  this 
we  may  be  quite  sure,  that  whencesoever 
truth  may  come,  it  will  be  always  consistent, 
always  in  harmony  with  all  other  truth. 
Truth  is  everywhere  Divine,  and  among 
things  that  are  true,  there  can  only  be  con- 
currence, correspondence,  and  the  most  per- 
fect blending  of  ail  the  particulars  into  the 
one  universal  whole. 

Perhaps  the  chief  sources  of  truth  outside 
of  revelation  have  been  physical  science  and 
moral  science.  In  both  of  these,  men  have 
learned  something  of  the  nature  and  attri- 
butes of  God,  and  there  discovered  the  neces- 
sary and  eternal  laws  whereby  He  governs 
the  world,  and  in  accordance  with  which  He 
ever  acts  towards  men. 

Now,  it  is  clear  that  a  theology  which  con- 
tains principles  contradictory  to  those  which 
are  certainly  given  in  science  or  in  morals 
cannot  be  true,  and  from  it,  therefore,  no  real 
religious  life  can  flow.     In  this  respect  many 


1 66  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

of  those  propositions  which  have  been  ac- 
cepted as  true  upon  the  supposed  testimony 
of  Scripture  have  been  found,  when  further 
light  has  been  gained  upon  the  subject,  to  be 
errors  needing  the  rectification  which  is  found 
in  the  harmony  of  truth.  Here,  especially,  we 
might  note  the  teaching  which  at  one  time 
was  accepted  as  of  distinctly  Divine  authority 
concerning  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the 
formation  of  men  and  animals.  To  have 
denied  that  the  work  of  creation  occupied 
only  six  of  our  days,  or  to  have  believed  that 
death  existed  before  the  presence  of  man 
upon  the  earth,  would  have  drawn  down 
upon  the  devoted  holder  of  such  views  the 
anathema  of  nearly  the  whole  Church ;  but  to- 
day there  is  not  an  intelligent  man  amongst 
us  to  whom  these  points  are  anything  but  the 
merest  commonplace.  Geology  has  given  a 
new  aspect  to  all  our  knowledge  of  creation 
and  the  genesis  of  things,  and  we  have  been 
compelled  to  re-examine  the  theological  dog- 
mas which  have  not  squared  with  the  result 
of  modern  research.     The  fact  is,  that  men  are 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     1 6/ 

beginning  to  recognize,  that  they  have  been 
often  taking  their  own  inferences  for  Scrip- 
ture, and  holding  these  to  be  fundamental 
theological  truths.  Happy  is  that  man 
whose  mind  is  ever  open  to  the  light  which 
God  pours  upon  us  from  every  side,  and  is 
still  ''proving  all  things,"  though  ''holding 
fast  that  which  is  good  !  " 

This  warning  will  apply  to  the  mere  literal- 
ist,  as  the  former  test  which  we  have  con- 
sidered, referred^  rather  to  the  theologian  of 
the  schools.  In  a  certain  sense,  we  must  be 
freed  from  the  dominion  of  the  Book,  or 
rather  from  the  sovereignty  of  certain  forms 
of  interpretation.  Believing,  as  I  do,  that  the 
Book  is  Divine,  I  have  complete  confidence 
that  the  Book  will  prove  its  consistency  and 
harmony  with  everything  else  that  is  Divine. 
But  we  have  not  yet  discovered  the  Divine 
interpreter  of  the  Book,  whose  words  must  be 
final,  whose  authority  none  can  impugn,  ex- 
cept that  ever  indwelling  grace  and  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  whereby  men  may  still  grow 
and  develop  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth — 


l68  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

a  grace  vital  and  life-giving  in  the  midst  of 
all  the  stirring  progress  of  our  age. 

Some  men  and  some  churches  have  refused 
to  allow  their  old  theories  to  be  changed  in 
accord  with  the  light  of  modern  times.  The 
result  is  that  they  have  been  left  high  and 
dry  by  the  mighty,  passing  flood-tide  of 
thought  and  life.  They  stand  to-day  without 
a  moment's  influence  among  their  fellow-men. 
They  repeat  words  which  are  empty,  and 
reiterate  beliefs  which  are  distinctly  contrary 
to  the  truth  of  God. 

3.  In  the  discussion  of  these  two  tests  of  a 
theology,  it  may  be  thought  that  we  are 
movinor  in  a  direction  which  will  lead  at  last 
to  complete  departure  from  all  the  old  forms 
of  faith.  In  a  certain  sense  the  modern  devel- 
opments of  Theism  and  Unitarianism  may 
seem  to  satisfy  our  conditions.  The  univer- 
sality of  religion,  and  the  harmony  of  its 
truths  with  the  spheres  of  science  and  morals, 
might  seem  to  be  fully  recognized  in  some  of 
the  movements  of  religious  thought,  with 
which  we  are   familiar  in  our  times,  that  yet 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     1 69 

can  be  called  Christian  only  by  a  very  vague 
and  indefinite  use  of  that  term.  Some  of  my 
hearers  may  be  inclined  to  ask,  what  then,  will 
furnish  us  with  a  guiding  principle,  such  as 
shall  secure  us  from  a  too  ereat  latitudi- 
narianism,  while  yet  we  are  running  on  lines 
somewhat  different  from  those  once  accepted 
by  the  church  ?  Are  we  to  throw  away  the 
distinctive  features  of  Christian  Evangeli- 
calism which  have  proved  the  solace  of  so 
many,  and  have  been  the  really  dominant 
powers  of  the  last  two  millenniums  ?  Our 
answer  can  only  be — most  assuredly  not. 
The  test  which  will  now  be  proposed,  and 
which  is  as  necessary  as  those  that  have  pre- 
ceded it,  preserves  for  us  the  precious  herit- 
age of  our  faith  in  the  atonement  and  sacri- 
fice of  Jesus  Christ. 

We  may  advance  it  in  the  following  terms  : 
A  theology  can  only  be  regarded  as  religions 
when  it  teaches^  as  one  of  its  primary  trtiths, 
a  Divine  action  in  respect  of  hitman  sin.  If 
religion  includes  the  approach  to  God  in  our 
worship,   and    the    constant    recognition    of 


I70  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

God's  grace  and  mercy  in  our  life,  then  the 
theology  upon  which  it  depends  must  deal,  in 
some  way  or  other,  with  the  stupendous  fact 
of  human  sinfulness.  A  consciousness  of  sin 
is  one  of  the  primary  facts  of  human  nature. 
Personal  experience  and  universal  history 
proclaim  man's  knowledge  that  he  is  under  a 
shadow,  that  he  has  broken  the  law  of  God, 
and  fallen  from  some  condition  of  innocence 
towards  which  he  ever  looks  with  longing 
eyes,  but  from  which  he  is  ever  driven  by 
some  resistless  power.  The  history  of  all  re- 
ligions bears  testimony  to  this.  No  rites  have 
ever  been  celebrated  which  do  not  include 
within  them  a  confession  of  human  sin,  and 
in  some  way  endeavor  to  expiate,  atone  for, 
and  remove  it.  Every  system  of  thought, 
every  culture,  which  has  ignored  this  sinful 
condition,  has  been  only  a  passing  phase  of 
speculation,  dying  by  its  own  inherent  weak- 
ness and  utter  disagreement  with  the  solemn 
facts  of  human  consciousness.  Pure  natural- 
ism is  itself  unnatural,  and  humanity  turns 
away  weary,  disgusted,  because  it  has  failed 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      I/I 

to  find  consolation  for  its  greatest  sorrow, 
healing"  for  its  worst  disease.  I 

It  is  when  man  seeks  to  approach  God, 
that  he  becomes  most  aware  of  his  sinfulness. 
When  the  prophet  beheld  in  the  temple  the 
vision  of  God,  whose  train  filled  the  sS.cred 
edifice,  and  around  whom  the  seraphs  ever 
burned  and  blazed  in  the  glory  of  their  ser- 
vice of  praise,  he  became  profoundly  con- 
scious of  his  sin,  and  of  the  sin  of  his  people, 
and  he  cried  out,  "  Woe  is  me,  for  I  am  un- 
done. I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  live 
among  a  people  of  unclean  lips."  When 
the  Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  burst 
upon  the  astonished  gaze  of  Peter,  and  His 
control  over  the  natural  world  was  seen  in 
the  miracle,  the  Apostle  fell  down  before  the 
Saviour  exclaiming,  "  Depart  from  me,  O 
Lord,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man." 

What  are  these  instances,  but  examples  of 
the  common  experience  of  mankind  ?  A 
sudden  and  overwhelming  apprehension  of 
God  throws  man  back  upon  the  profounder 
sense  of  his  moral   nature ;  and  in  the  light 


1/2  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

which  shines  from  the  face  of  God,  man  sees 
and  recognizes  the  peril,  the  hateful  nature 
of  his  sinfulness. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  any  system  of 
doctrine  concerning  God  and  God's  relation 
to  man  must  include  the  fact  of  sin,  must  in 
some  way  point  out  a  method  of  dealing  with 
it,  and  such  a  mode  as  shall  relieve  the  hu- 
man heart  from  its  pressure,  and  take  away 
its  stains  from  the  soul. 

Let  us,  then,  apply  this  test  in  our  theo- 
logical studies.  It  will  save  time  and  temper. 
It  will  guard  us  from  wanderings  in  direc- 
tions where  there  can  be  no  prospect  of  find- 
ing atonement  or  sanctification.  It  will  help 
us  to  conserve  what  otherwise  we  might  be 
induced  to  throw  away,  and  thus  the  soul  will 
never  be  left  upon  a  sea  the  dangers  of  which 
are  laid  down  in  no  chart,  and  over  which 
it  might  be  tempted  to  sail  without  rudder  or 
compass. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  our  theology  must 
recognize  human  sin,  and  the  deep  convic- 
tions of  guilt  which  all  men  feel.     Following 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.     1 73 

this  is  the  sense  that  our  sin  must  be — I 
think  I  may  add,  the  strong  expectation  that 
it  will  be — removed.  But  then  comes  the 
question,  how  is  this  to  be  accomplished  ? 
The  soul  hears  the  thunder  of  the  law  which 
it  has  broken.  Who  shall  turn  the  awful 
sound  into  the  sweet  music  of  approval  ? 
The  law  is  external  to  man,  away  from  him, 
though  decending  upon  him  with  its  terrible 
sanctions.  Suppose  he  ceases  from  his  sin  ; 
this  does  not  undo  the  past.  Sin  remains  an 
eternal  fact,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  and 
not  all  the  tears  of  all  the  sorrowing  ones  can 
wash  out  the  stain  of  a  single  sin.  Besides 
which,  sin  is  not  only  an  objective  fact  in 
a  broken  law,  it  is  also  a  condition  of  the 
soul,  and  it  clings  to  man  as  the  poisoned 
garment  to  the  ancient  hero,  not  even  to 
be  torn  away  by  death.  Man  is  powerless. 
This  is  clear.  Where  can  he  look  for  help, 
for  deliverance  ?  The  source  of  judgment 
must  be  also  the  spring  of  mercy.  God 
Himself  must  supply  the  means  of  expia- 
tion, if  the    guilt    is    to    be    removed ;    must 


174  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS.     ' 

Himself  give  the  succor,  if  the  soul  is  to  be 
renewed. 

These  are  the  mere  commonplaces  of  per- 
sonal experience  and  conviction.  But  they 
are  the  profound,  all-searching  principles 
which  must  govern  any  system  of  adjustment 
between  God  and  man. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  criticise  or  defend 
any  special  theology  in  this  discourse.  But 
it  needs  hardly  to  be  said  that,  if  these  tests 
are  true  (and  we  need  not  appeal  for  testi- 
mony beyond  your  own  consciences),  many 
of  the  systems  of  theology  and  religion  which 
are  now  endeavoring  to  make  way  amongst 
us  are  decisively  condemned.  So  necessary 
is  this,  that  its  recognition  on  the  part  of 
some  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  scholastic 
theologies  which  have  been  and  are  still  in 
vogue,  gave  to  them  their  profound  hold 
upon  the  church,  and  their  success  amongst 
mankind.  Spite  of  their  narrowness,  of  their 
verbal  controversies,  of  their  untruthfulness 
in  many  respects,  men  have  found  in  them 
those  truths     which    deal   with    the     intense 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS  THEOLOGY.     1 75 

needs  of  the  human  conscience.  The  ma- 
jority of  people  have  not  stopped  to  consider 
them  as  a  whole,  but  have  leaped  with  joy  to 
their  blessed  teaching  concerning  sin  and  its 
removal,  and  have  rejoiced  in  the  strength 
and  comfort  which  they  have  thus  gained. 

This  is  emphatically  the  truth  which  the 
New  Testament  reveals  to  man.  The  sacri- 
fice and  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  is,  there- 
fore, the  gospel  of  humanity.  Being  this,  it 
claims  to  be  universal  and  eternal.  Beinof 
this,  it  has  been  welcomed  everywhere,  and 
promises  to  win  the  world  to  its  allegiance, 
and  gather  all  men  into  its  cheer. 

Apply  these  three  tests  to  the  doctrines  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  most  unpractised  mind 
will  not  require  that  I  should  point  out  how 
completely  they  are  satisfied.  Is  it  strange 
then  that  we  find  the  religion  of  Jesus  emerge 
from  corruptions,  free  itself  from  superstitions, 
disentangle  itself  from  the  ecclesiastical  ming- 
ling with  it  of  the  absurdities  of  paganism,  and 
evermore  hasten  to  fulfil  the  promises  made  to 
the   early  believers,  that  He   should  become 


1/6  SERMONS   TO    STUDENTS. 

the  light  to  Hghten  the  Gentiles  and  the  glory 
of  His  people  Israel  ?  What  the  Scriptures 
have  already  revealed  to  the  children  of  faith, 
the  event  is  rapidly  showing  to  every  man, 
that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times 
He  will  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and  which 
are  on  earth. 

My  closing  words  shall  be  few  and  practi- 
cal, and,  first,  to  students.  Remember  that 
theological  research  is  not  necessarily  religi- 
ous. A  man  may  study  even  the  sacred 
themes  of  God,  and  God's  character  and 
works,  without  any  sense  of  reverence,  with- 
out any  consciousness  of  a  life  that  is  ob- 
tained from  God  Himself  Indeed,  without 
special  care,  the  pursuits  of  theology  may 
harden  the  heart,  and,  by  familiarity,  render 
the  spirit  unimpressible  to  religion  itself. 
The  habits,  therefore,  of  devotion,  personal 
watchfulness,  meditation,  prayer,  especially 
the  active  endeavor  of  a  Christian  life,  are 
needed  to  accompany  and  freshen  and  vitalize 
theological  knowledge.     Be  very  careful  of 


RELIGIOUS  AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      \J^ 

dealing  with  the  facts  and  truths  of  your 
study,  as  if  they  were  the  mere  symbols  of 
mathematics,  scarcely  better  than  the  pawns 
and  counters  of  an  intellectual  game.  Thus 
dealt  with,  theology  becomes  diabolic,  the 
mere  mockery  of  God,  and  perhaps  the  most 
immoral  influence  to  which  the  human  soul  is 
exposed.  But  when  the  intellectual  study  is 
accompanied  by  a  truly  devout  life,  then  will 
this  science  give  elevation  to  the  soul,  raising 
the  mind,  disciplining  all  its  powers,  and  ever 
shining  about  the  inner  character  and  the 
outer  conduct,  as  a  light  from  the  throne  of 
God. 

To  the  general  audience,  also,  I  have  one 
counsel.  We  have  been  speaking  about  the 
importance  of  a  true  theology  in  relation  to  a 
religious  life.  To  some  of  you,  doubtless,  the 
very  terms  and  methods  of  theological  science 
are  utterly  unknown.  Perhaps  much  that  is 
said  by  a  theologian  is  obscure,  difficult  to  be 
understood  ;  and  you  may  have  felt  that  if  re- 
ligion is  so  dependent  upon  theology,  and 
theology  is  almost  an  impossibility  to  you,  it 


178  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

is  hopeless  for  you  to  endeavor  after  devo- 
tion ;  the  service  of  God  can  only  be  for  those 
who  understand,  or  at  least  can  with  some  in- 
telligence deal  with  the  high  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Not  so.  The  little 
child  has  its  little  plot  of  garden  ground.  In 
the  extent  of  but  a  few  square  yards,  there 
may  go  on  processes  which,  in  their  investi- 
gation, all  the  learned  men  of  all  the  learned 
societies  in  the  world  might  spend  their  life- 
time, and  yet  only  stand  upon  the  threshold 
of  the  truth  which  the  small  patch  of  garden 
may  reveal.  The  sun  will  shine  upon  it,  and 
his  shining  shall  call  for  all  the  astronomer's 
skill  to  explain ;  the  winds  shall  blow  upon  it 
and  the  rain  fall,  and  what  can  the  meteorolo- 
gist, even  yet,  tell  us  of  these  mysterious 
forces?  The  chemist  and  the  physiologist 
have  wondrous  books  to  open  and  to  read,  in 
the  powers  of  the  soil,  and  the  bursting  of 
the  seed,  and  the  blooming  of  the  tiny  flower. 
What  does  the  child  know  of  all  these  scien- 
ces ?  Their  very  names  it  cannot  spell ;  and 
yet  the  little  one  may  plant  the    seed,   and 


RELIGIOUS   AND   IRRELIGIOUS   THEOLOGY.      1/9 

watch  the  opening  bud,  and  gather  a  fair 
nosegay,  and  bring  it  as  its  offering  of  affec- 
tion to  a  loving  parent.  So,  simple-hearted 
child  of  God,  thou  mayest  tend  thy  plot  of  life 
in  God's  great  garden  !  The  mysteries  of  the 
science  of  God  and  His  life.  His  dealings  with 
thyself,  thou  canst  not  fathom ;  but  thou 
mayest  bring  thine  offerings  of  prayer  and 
praise ;  thou  canst  grow  the  flowers  of  piety 
and  sweet  service.  Understanding  little,  thou 
mayest  yet  love  much,  and  find  at  last  that 
prophecies  shall  fail,  and  tongues  shall  cease, 
and  knowledge  shall  vanish  away ;  but  that 
love  never  faileth  ;  that  love,  indeed,  is  life, 
the  very  life  of  God,  for  God  is  love.  To 
thee  the  mysteries  of  knowing  shall  all  be  re- 
solved and  made  clear  in  the  holy  sacrifice  of 
the  devout  and  loving  heart. 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE— THE 
SUPREME   STUDY. 


James  IV.,  14. — For  what  is  your  life  ? 


VII. 

RELIGION  AND  LIFE— THE  SUPREME 
STUDY. 

In  the  midst  of  the  course  of  sermons  ad- 
dressed to  different  classes  of  students,  I 
have  thought  it  well  to  interpolate  a  discourse 
of  a  more  general  character,  partly  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  average  congregation,  and 
partly  because  it  seemed  unbecoming  to  al- 
low the  significance  of  the  first  service  of  the 
new  year  to  pass  by  without  notice.  We 
are  not  observers  of  days  and  seasons.  Ours 
is  not  the  faith  which  believes  that  Heaven's 
relation  to  earth  depends  upon  any  time  or 
any  recurrence  of  the  anniversary  of  even  the 
most  important  event.  God  is  always  our 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ  by  coming  into  time, 
and  taking  upon  Himself  the  conditions  of 
our  temporal  life,  has  made  all  time  sacred, 
and    every   day  a  day  of  the    Son    of  Man. 


1 84  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

And  yet,  inevitably,  certain  seasons  will  evoke 
becoming  sentiment  and  make  the  human 
heart  more  ready  to  receive  certain  impres- 
sions. It  is,  therefore,  wise  of  the  preacher 
to  seize  these  occasions,  and  endeavor  by 
their  aid  to  fasten  more  securely  the  nails  of 
conviction,  resolution,  and  reform,  which  the 
masters  of  assemblies  ever  seek  to  drive. 

The  new  year  is  one  of  these  times.  New 
Year's  day  has  in  itself  nothing  different  from 
any  other  day  of  all  the  year.  It  is  an  arbi- 
trary, customary  thing  only,  and  yet  no  one 
lives  through  it,  no  one  spends  the  days 
which  are  near  to  it,  without  some  solemn 
thought  on  life  and  character,  on  duty  and 
destiny.  My  hearers  are  prepared  by  the 
mere  fashion  of  the  season  to  ponder  more 
deeply,  perhaps,  than  is  their  wont,  those 
dread  possibilities  of  our  life,  those  con- 
ditions, cares  and  woes,  upon  which  depend  so 
much  a  present  welfare  and  an  eternal  hap- 
piness. I  therefore  propose  to  speak,  to-day, 
of  that  supreme  study — not  technical  or  pro- 
fessional, not  the  study  of  a  class  or  school, 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  1 85 

but  universal,  human.  Every  man  here  is  a 
learner.  In  this  pursuit  all  must  share.  In 
this  school  all  must  graduate  or  fail.  I  still 
address  ''  students  and  thoughtful  persons," 
but,  directly  and  personally,  I  claim  the 
attention  of  every  one  to  whom  God  has 
given  the  awful  responsibility  of  living,  and 
before  whom  there  lies  an  everlasting  career 
whose  portal  is  death,  and  whose  end  comes 
never. 

My  subject  is,  therefore,  Religioji  and 
Life,  or  the  Supreme  Study. 

And  in  the  first  place,  let  us  consider  the 
object  of  study — Life.  What  is  it  ?  What  is 
its  scope  ?     How  wide  are  its  limits  ? 

It  would  not  seem  to  be  a  very  difficult 
matter  of  definition,  for  it  is  so  common, 
so  well  known.  Every  man  lives,  every 
man  knows  in  a  moment  what  we  mean 
when  we  use  the  term.  It  is  the  immediate 
consciousness  of  each  living  being,  and  yet 
there  is  perhaps  nothing  which  so  escapes 
us  when  we  endeavor  to  lay  hold  of  it,  to 
perceive   its    essential   qualities,    and  to    ex- 


l86  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

press  them  in  some  terms  of  clear  and  pre- 
cise meaning. 

You  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  define 
life  in  its  restricted  sense,  to  point  out  the 
limit  which  separates  the  purely  material  and 
mechanical,  from  the  oro^anic  and  vital ;  how 
the  difficulty  increases  when  our  term  in- 
cludes the  vegetative  and  the  animal,  and 
finally  rises  to  the  intellectual,  the  moral,  the 
volitional,  and  the  spiritual.  What  is  life? 
we  ask,  and  the  chemist  and  the  physiologist, 
the  physicist  and  the  metaphysician  have  not 
yet  settled  the  bounds  of  vitality,  and  agreed 
upon  the  terms  of  the  answer  which  they  will 
give  us. 

But  we  are  to-day,  not  men  of  science,  nor 
even  men  of  metaphysical  philosophy.  We  are 
moralists  and  preachers,  and  our  concern  is 
with  the  phenomena  and  activities  which  may 
be  seen  in  the  manifoldness  of  human  exis- 
tence, in  the  play  of  human  passions,  desires, 
enereies,  in  the  recrulative  laws  of  conduct, 
in  the  growth  of  character,  in  the  universal 
development  of  the  society  and  race  of  man. 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE.  1 8/ 

Suppose  we  take  our  stand  at  a  street 
corner  in  the  crowded  city,  and  look  forth 
upon  the  crowd  which  drives  past  us  Hke  the 
stream  of  some  swiftly-flowing  river.  The 
buildings  of  the  town  tower  above  us  on 
every  side.  There  stretches  a  plot  of  ground 
where  sleep  the  dead  of  the  past  generations, 
but  our  concern  is  not  now  with  them. 
Across  the  way  rise  the  tall  marts  of  com- 
merce. Exchanges,  banks,  offices,  and  stores 
receive  and  pour  out  again  a  busy  troop  of 
toiling  men  and  women.  Up  the  street  yon- 
der, we  catch  sight  of  the  corner  of  a  build- 
ing where  the  varying  claims  of  conflicting 
desires  are  adjusted,  where  justice  is  dis- 
pensed, where  crime  is  punished,  and  inno- 
cence, wrongfully  accused,  is  cleared.  An 
opening  in  the  street  lets  through  a  shim- 
mer of  light  from  the  river  or  the  sea,  where 
the  stately  masted  ships  or  smoking  steamers 
give  us  a  suggested  outlook  to  the  far-off 
lands.  Men,  and  women  and  children,  on 
foot,  or  in  coach  or  car  or  wagon,  press  along 
in  their  respective  purposes  of  pleasure,  pro- 


1 88  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

fit,  toll  or  recreation.  The  streets  are  full  of 
roar  and  rattle.  Above  our  heads  trains  go 
thundering  by.  The  shuffle  of  footsteps,  the 
confused  sounds  of  busy  trade,  the  murmur 
of  conversation,  the  ten  thousand  voices  of 
city  life  blend  in  a  strange  music,  like  the 
voice  of  many  waters.  The  nation's  flags  flap 
in  the  flying  wind  from  roof  and  turret.  Mul- 
titudinous wires  cross  and  recross  the  streets, 
upon  which  breezes,  as  they  pass,  play  fantas- 
tic melodies,  and  along  which  there  fly,  swift 
with  the  lightning's  flash,  the  messages  of 
trade,  of  joy,  of  affection,  the  tidings  of  a 
world's  life,  the  dismal  details  of  our  human 
story.  High  over  all  these  there  springs  to 
heaven  the  church  tower,  from  which  ever  and 
anon  ring  out  the  chimes  or  toll  the  hours, 
telling  of  the  flight  of  time,  presage  of  the 
eternal  ocean  whither  ever  flows  this  stream  of 
life.  Bewildered,  dazed,  with  senses  by  turns 
arrested,  startled,  quickened,  now  in  medita- 
tion,, and  now  rudely  reminded  to  give  regard 
to  the  external  scene,  we  stand  and  gaze  and 
wonder,  and  we  say,  ''  This  is  the  life  of  man  ! " 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  189 

The  scene  is  changed.  In  the  seclusion 
and  retirement  of  our  own  chamber,  we  peruse 
the  history  of  our  human  Hfe.  Perhaps  the 
page  we  read  is  the  brilHant,  and  picturesque 
story  of  the  Roman  annahst,  or  mayhap  the 
deep  and  philosophic  tale  of  him  who  told 
how  Athens  having  fought  and  gained  the 
security  of  Europe's  people,  was  herself  over- 
whelmed and  broken  by  her  sister  states.  The 
gorgeous  gallery  of  a  Gibbon  may  be  our 
study,  and  we  watch  with  breathless  interest 
great  Rome  toppling  to  her  fall,  while  on  her 
ruins  rise  the  greater  marvels  of  our  modern 
life.  The  horrors  of  Revolution  may  enthral  us 
in  the  flashing  lines  of  a  Carlyle,  or  the  severer 
movement  of  a  nearer  writer  may  tell  of  the 
foundation,  and  the  growth,  the  fortunes,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Western  World.  Perhaps  we 
peruse  the  columns  of  a  modern  daily  paper. 
Damp  from  the  press,  the  crowded  page,  that 
only  a  few  short  hours  ago  was  swiftly  grow- 
ing 'neath  the  printer's  fingers,  tells  the  story 
of  the  world's  doings  no  later  than  from  yester 
morn  to  yester  eve.     Here,  we  read  how,  five 


1 90  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

thousand  miles  away,  the  armies  are  met  in 
battle-shock,  and  strew  the  ground  with  dead 
or  dying,  and  build  up  an  empire  or  over- 
throw a  dynasty  that  has  ruled  for  half  a 
thousand  years.  Here,  a  murder  spreads  its 
ghastly  details  ;  there,  a  marriage  rings  its 
merry  bells  ;  there,  a  lingering  death  lays  low 
a  teacher,  a  ruler,  a  master  of  the  nation. 
Then  come  joke  and  pun,  the  speech  of 
demagogues,  the  lispings  of  ^'  fair  girl  grad- 
uates," the  debates  of  senates,  the  rise  and  fall 
of  stocks,  the  inflow  of  gold,  the  temperature 
of  chilly  frost  or  sweltering  heat,  a  fire,  a 
flood,  a  discovery,  the  long  catalogue  of 
Satan's  devices,  victories,  the  longer  line  of 
God's  orreat  doings  in  liftinof  the  world  to 
Himself,  and  bringing,  one  day  nearer,  the 
final  victory  of  everlasting  good.  We  finish 
our  paper,  we  throw  It  into  the  waste-basket, 
or  fold  It  up  and  start  It  off  upon  a  vo3^age 
round  the  world,  to  let  our  friends  know  how 
things  are  with  us,  and  we  muse  an  instant 
and  cry,  *'  Such  Is  life  ! " 

Or,  maybe  we  find  the  object  of  our  study 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE.  IQI 

Still  elsewhere.  Not  in  the  history  of  the 
past,  not  in  the  story  of  the  world  from  day  to 
day,  but  in  ourselves.  Locking  out  all  the  ex- 
ternal activities,  forgetting  all  the  past  history 
of  men,  ''far  from  the  madding  crowd,"  where 
not  even  the  echo  of  life's  cries  can  reach  us, 
we  explore  the  hidden  secrets  of  our  heart, 
we  recall  our  own  way,  we  interrogate  our 
own  consciousness.  Which  is  more  wonder- 
ful, the  macrocosm  of  the  great  world,  or  the 
microcosm  of  ourselves  ?  Verily  I  know  not. 
Passions  sweep  up  from  the  deep  caverns  of 
the  soul,  and  on  the  smaller  stage  of  our 
own  experience,  there  are  the  possibilities  of 
dramas  as  eventful  as  were  ever  presented, 
when  we 

...  .  "let  gorgeous  Tragedy 
In  sceptred  pall  come  sweeping  by, 
Presenting  Thebe's  or  Pelop's  line 
Or  the  Tale  of  Troy  Divine." 

We  too  might  sing  epics  that  shall  tell  the  tale 
of  encounters,  long  wars,  and  direful  sieges 
within  the  region  of  our  own  heart's  beating. 


192  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

Device  and  pride  and  envy  and  courage, 
greed  and  revenge,  with  pity,  truth,  and  grace 
and  love,  are  all  within  us,  all  alive,  active, 
expressive  of  themselves,  forming  a  world, 
varied  and  grotesque,  pathetic,  triumphant  or 
disastrous,  and  all-absorbing  as  the  great 
world  about  us.  Within  us,  empires  rise  and 
fall.  Within  us  there  are  battles,  bruits,  the 
quiet  growth  of  laws,  loved  and  loyally  obeyed, 
the  mighty  insurrections  and  revolutions 
which  make  or  forever  mar  a  soul.  And  then 
memory  takes  up  the  duty  and  recalls  the 
past.  The  frolics  of  childhood,  the  songs 
of  youth,  the  resolutions  of  the  opening  life, 
the  dogged  perseverances,  the  ambitious 
quests,  the  helps,  the  antagonisms,  the  loves, 
the  hatreds,  the  riot,  the  order,  the  obedience, 
the  duty,  the  holy  service  of  our  lives,  all 
troop  before  us,  and  we  review  the  story, 
whereof  we  are  at  once  the  actors,  the  re- 
citers, the  perusers,  of  these  years  that  have 
brought  us  to  the  present  hour,  and  with 
sobered  spirit  and  chastened  heart,  per- 
haps with  tearful  eye  (though  happy  if  that 


RELIGION   AND    LIFE.  193 

peace  which  the  world  gives  not  possesses 
our  soul  with  a  pledge  of  divine  mercy),  we 
rise  to  the  common  duty  of  our  place,  our 
service,  and  we  say,  *'  This  too  is  Hfe." 

This  then  is  our  problem,  this  is  the  su- 
preme object  of  study,  this  the  study  in  which 
every  one  is  called  to  engage,  where  each 
one  becomes  at  once  subject  and  object  of  the 
pursuit. 

How  important  is  the  study  of  this  life — • 
quite  apart  from  its  interest,  although  this  is 
not  slight  !  A  man  has  only  to  give  himself 
up  to  the  observation  of  it,  and  he  will  find 
that  it  ever  draws  upon  him  with  increasing 
power.  It  is  so  varied ;  it  has  scenes  of  so 
much  beauty  and  delight;  its  least  lovely 
forms  are  still'  absorbing.  It  appeals  to  the 
curiosity  of  our  nature.  All  men  ask,  What  is 
it  ?  and  some  men  ask  that  question  with  an  in- 
tensity, an  iteration  that  belong  to  nothing  else. 
But,  I  repeat,  it  is  important  that  we  under- 
stand it,  for  it  is  a  practical  object  of  study. 
We  are  part  of  it,  we  are  related  to  it.  It  is 
ourselves;  and  the  modern  poet  who  sings  that 


194  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

**the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man"  only 
echoes  the  answer  of  the  ancient  oracle,  which 
declared  that  *'the  highest  knowledge"  pos- 
sible for  man  was  ''  to  know  himself."  We 
cannot  do  our  work,  we  cannot  enjoy  life,  we 
cannot  be  our  best  selves,  we  cannot  "  serve 
our  generation  by  the  will  of  God,"  unless  we 
know  this  life,  whose  manifold  forms  and  var- 
ied activities  we  have  reviewed.  Of  course, 
in  a  certain  sense  we  can  live  without  under- 
standing much  of  life.  But  when  we  live 
thus,  we  are  not  much  better  than  the  animal, 
nay,  we  are  no  higher  than  the  flower  or  the 
tree.  This  lives,  obeys  the  law  of  its  being, 
grows  and  puts  forth  its  leaves,  is  colored, 
graceful,  odorous,  drops  its  rich  fruit,  scatters 
its  seed,  and  dies  when  it  has  fulfilled  its  des- 
tiny in  being  perfected  itself  and  securing 
the  perpetuation  of  its  kind.  The  patient  ox 
that  browses  in  the  meadow  or  tramples  with 
its  slow  strength  among  the  corn  it  threshes, 
or  before  the  groaning  wain  it  draws ;  the 
bird  that  flutters  in  the  sunshine,  or  swings 
upon  the   branches    of  the  tree,   or   nestles 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE.  I95 

*neath  the  eaves  ;  the  fish  that  darts  through 
the  stream  and  shows  its  speckled  back 
above  the  mountain  brook  or  leaps  at  the  fly 
that  skims  the  surface  of  the  wave — all  these 
live,  and  according  to  their  law  of  life,  live 
perfectly  and  fully.  But  we  are  neither  beasts, 
nor  birds,  nor  fishes  ;  we  are  men,  who  can, 
nay,  who  must  look  in  and  through.  We 
have  the  divine  gift  of  asking,  what  is  this? 
and  why  ?  and  whither  ?  and,  at  our  peril,  do 
we  neglect  to  find  the  answer  and  then  shape 
our  life  according  to  the  answer  that  we  find. 
Sometimes  perhaps  we  may  with  the  singer 
simply  feel  the  joy  of  being ;  we  may  say, 

"  O  gift  of  God  1  O  perfect  clay  ! 
Whereon  shall  no  man  work,  but  play  ; 
Whereon  it  is  enough  for  me, 
Not  to  be  doing,  but  to  be," 

And  yet  the  chief  business  of  life  must  be 
working  or  playing  ;  we  must  '  do,'  and  for 
'  doing '  we  must  understand  and  therefore 
we  must  study  this  life. 

And  the  importance  of  it  is  only  equalled  by 


196  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

its  difficulty.  Some  of  you  know  how  com- 
plex is  the  problem  of  motion  even  of  a  single 
body  in  space.  The  complexity  is  increased 
when  we  would  determine  the  law  which  con- 
trols the  relative  movement  of  two  bodies, 
while  to  add  a  third  is  to  find  ourselves 
launched  into  the  most  intricate  calculations 
of  the  highest  mathematics.  A  fourth  body 
renders  the  problem  almost  insoluble.  And 
if  this  be  true  of  the  mere  mechanical  laws 
which  control  the  movement  of  bodies,  what 
shall  we  say  of  that  vexed  question  of  our 
many  sided  life !  That  crowd  we  saw  down 
town,  that  multitudinous  scene  of  human 
history,  that  press  and  strife  of  our  own  in- 
ternal condition — what  solution  shall  we  apply 
to  this  ?  The  man  who  can  weigh  the  heaven- 
ly bodies  has  no  scale  which  can  hold  even 
the  spirit  of  a  new-born  babe.  The  alembic 
which  shall  resolve  the  most  complex  of 
chemical  substances,  loosening  the  subtle 
affinities  which  work  out  the  beautiful  forms 
that  gleam  in  the  flashing  facets  of  the  crystal, 
has  no  solvent  which  may  evolve  the  hidden 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  I97 

forces  that  play  within  the  soul  of  the  simplest 
peasant  who  does  his  hireling  toil  upon  the 
harvest  field.  And  then,  added  to  these  are 
all  the  difficulties  which  arise  in  the  study  of 
ourselves.  Who  can  know  knowledge,  who 
can  feel  feeling,  w^ho  can  perceive  perception  ? 
Explain  the  human  will ;  begin  its  definition  ; 
search  its  w^orkings.  It  eludes  you,  and  the 
very  effort  to  look  in  upon  yourself,  causes 
the  very  self  to  vanish,  or  to  hide  itself  be- 
neath the  attempt  to  find  it.  The  meanest, 
the  lowest,  the  least  taught  can  live,  but 
the    miorhtiest    mind    that    ever    sought   to 

o  o 

know  wdiat  is  this  livinof,  will  at  last  con- 
fess  that  having  known  all,  he  only  know^s 
he  cannot  know,  and  finding  most,  finds 
last  of  all  that  most  of  life  lies  far  beyond 
his  finding. 

This,  then,  is  our  life,  and  this  the  import- 
ance, this  the  difficulty  of  the  study  upon 
which  however,  we  affirm  again,  every  one 
must  be  set. 

But  what  shall  w^e  say  is  the  life  ?  for  we 
have    not   yet   attempted   to  define  it.     And 


198  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

how  shall  we  approach  the  study  ?  what  are 
the  aids  which  we  may  seek  for  it  ? 

It  may  not  be  amiss  here,  if  we  ask  what 
have  been  some  of  the  definitions  given  by 
Students,  or  indeed  by  masters  —  perhaps 
would-be  masters,  or  accepted  masters ;  by  no 
means  in  all  cases  true  masters  of  the  study  ? 

Not  a  few,  and  notably  in  our  day,  con- 
sider that  they  have  spoken  the  last  word  con- 
cerning life  when  they  have  resolved  it  all 
to  matter  and  to  material  force.  In  all  life 
the  most  evident  presentation  is  body,  and 
the  expression  of  the  life  is  always  in  some 
bodily  form.  Men  are  running  to  and  fro. 
Men  eat  and  drink,  men  breathe,  and  look, 
and  speak.  Air,  and  water,  and  blood,  and 
muscles,  and  nerves — these  are  the  elements 
out  of  which  the  structure  of  our  life  is  built. 
We  can  draw  lines  and  measure  distances, 
we  can  sum  up  additions,  and  we  show  how 
all  is  only  motion;  and  it  matters  not 
whether  the  motion  be  of  the  one  first  atom 
of  some  living  tissue,  or  the  combined  move- 
ments of  organized  molecules  so  numerous 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  199 

that  human  calculation  fails  to  count  them,  or 
so  minute  that  the  keenest  eye,  the  finest  in- 
strument, fails  to  catch  them.  Still  all  is  mat- 
ter, all  is  motion,  and  besides,  there  is  naught. 
But  is  this  so  ?  we  ask.  Can  you  thus  ex- 
plain life  ?  Have  you  not  in  the  very  process 
of  your  calculation,  in  the  very  steps  of  your 
minutest  search,  stopped  the  activity,  de- 
stroyed the  life,  and  lost  the  fine  and  subtle 
power  which  makes  the  human  congeries  of 
being  just  what  it  is,  different  from  your  heap 
of  mineral  specimens,  something  wholly  alien 
and  foreign  to  your  gathered  stores  of  physi- 
cal atoms,  your  calculated  measures  of  time, 
and  space,  and  weight  ?  The  labored  efforts 
to  compel  us  to  accept  this  solution  are  only 
the  proofs,  too  plain  and  unmistakable,  that  the 
common  sense  of  mankind,  the  consciousness 
of  each  man,  is  right  when  it  rejects  the  ma- 
terialist's definition,  and  still  asks  with  earnest 
impatience.  But  what  is  life  ? 

And  we  find  no  better  answer  in  the  ab- 
stract teachings  of  philosophy.  To  have 
rounded  life  in  a  conception,  to  gain  a  clear 


200  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

idea,  to  have  sought  the  unity  which  shall 
have  embraced  the  diversity  of  Hfe,  to  express 
this  perfectly  in  language — in  a  word,  to  find 
life  solved  in  knowing,  is  no  better  conclusion 
to  the  study.  One  wise  man  called  It  va^iityy 
and  some  have  supposed  him  inspired  in  such 
an  impotent  conclusion — impotent,  for  men 
will  live  and  struggle  to  live,  though  surely 
if  all  be  vanity,  we  had  better  make  no  fur- 
ther fuss  of  living,  but  quietly  and  decently 
give  it  up.  The  old  saying  concerning  phil- 
osophy was,  that  it  was  a  '*  Meditation  of 
Death,"  as  if  knowing  should  only  bring  us  to 
the  end,  the  close,  the  nothingness  of  all. 
But  each  new  philosopher  has  gone  again  to 
the  problem — plain  proof  that  he,  at  least,  was 
not  content  with  his  predecessor's  solution — 
and  the  common  man  has  paid  no  heed  to 
the  conflicts  of  the  schools,  holding  them  but 
as  babblings,  and  assured  by  some  divine 
voice  within  him,  that  death  was  certainly  not 
the  end,  the  perfectness  of  life.  What  is  life  ? 
still  asks  the  student.  What  is  life  ?  still 
queries  every  man  who  lives. 


RELIGION  AND    LIFE.  20I 

And  it  is  here  that  reHgion  steps  in  and 
gives  us  her  aid  to  the  solution,  and  not  only 
interprets  the  mystery,  but  adds  the  terrible 
sanction  of  woe  to  him  who  refuses  to  be 
taught  by  her. 

Life  is  not  all  you  see,  she  first  of  all 
declares.  Life  is  not  body,  not  merely  bodily 
activity.  It  is  the  outflowing  of  some  inner, 
some  higher,  some  altogether  unbodily  force. 
Life  is  the  energy  of  spirit,  and  spirit  can 
never  be  expressed  in  terms  of  matter  or  of 
force.  It  is  more  subtle  than  the  subtlest 
power  you  can  detect  in  nature,  swifter  than 
light,  more  impalpable  than  the  ether,  abiding, 
even  when  what  you  call  the  vital  forces  have 
worn  themselves  out  and  have  ceased  to  act. 
Life  is  a  beam  of  another  sun  than  that  which 
sustains  our  system,  and  gives  strength  and 
activity  to  all  things  therein.  Life  is  a  voice 
not  heard  in  the  rustling  leaves,  or  where  the 
sea-waves  break  upon  the  tawny  sand.  Com- 
pared to  this  life,  even  in  the  meanest,  all  the 
powers  and  energies,  all  the  vast  regions  of 
the  material  universe,  though  it  lie  beyond  the 


202  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

furthest  star  that  ghstens  on  the  bosom  of  the 
night,  are  less  than  the  tiniest  cell  which  your 
microscope  reveals,  more  swiftly  passing  than 
the  ephemera,  which  dances  its  short  hour  in 
the  summer  sun,  and  dies.  See,  yonder  stands 
a  grave  and  serious  man.  His  hand  is  on  the 
breast  of  that  prostrate  form.  Slowly  the 
throbbings  of  that  heart  have  grown  still,  and 
now  he  tells  us  life  has  ceased.  What  is  life, 
we  ask,  and  he  unfolds  the  awful  secrets  of 
that  human  body.  He  shows  the  heart,  the 
avenues  of  flowing  blood ;  he  opens  the  mys- 
teries of  tissue,  gland,  and  nerve.  He  bids 
us  mark  the  changes  which  food  and  air 
undergo  in  the  living  chemistry  of  that  body. 
See  how  the  carbon  is  burnt  and  supplies  the 
heat,  how  the  nitrogen  builds  up  the  tissues, 
how  of  the  earthy  salts  each  finds  its  place 
and  discharges  its  office.  Look  at  the  fibres 
of  the  muscles,  the  wondrous  complexity  of 
nerves  along  which  feeling  and  volition  fly  in 
swift  and  certain  execution.  The  external 
emotions  impel  the  internal  activities,  and  the 
environment  of  force  produces  the  individual- 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE.  203 

ity  of  organization  with  all  its  manifold  forms 
of  life.  And  now  all  is  over — the  work  is 
done,  the  fire  is  burned  out,  the  engine  is 
worn,  the  life  is  flown,  or  rather  has  ceased, 
and  that  is  all.  All,  most  learned  man  ?  Go 
ask  yonder  weeping  woman  if  that  is  all.  If 
that  is  what  she  loved  and  trusted  and  over 
which  perhaps  she  has  broken  her  heart,  and 
wasted  her  beinof.  Go  ask  those  friends  who 
grasped  the  hand,  and  sought  in  the  light  of 
those  eyes  their  inspiration,  and  to  whom  the 
now  silenced  voice  was  as  a  trumpet-call  to 
duty  and  to  endeavor.  That  is  all  ?  Go  ask 
the  men  who  read  the  lines  he  wrote,  who 
will  a  thousand  years  hence  recite  his  sayings 
and  sincr  his  sones.  That  is  all?  Go  ask  the 
crowds  whose  nobler  instincts  he  summoned 
into  being,  whose  life  he  conducted,  and 
whom  he  has  preceded — at  least  so  they 
believe — into  some  eternal  world  where  the 
broken  lines  of  life  shall  be  taken  up  again, 
and  woven  once  more  into  a  garment  that 
wears  out  never,  and  whose  beauty  and  per- 
fectness  shall  never  be  spotted  or  made  less. 


204  SERMONS   TO  STUDENTS. 

Life  is  spirit,  undying-,  divine — the  very 
breath  of  God,  eternal  as  His  being,  of  the 
immortal  essence  of  the  everlasting  Lord. 

O,  what  is  man,  great  Maker  of  mankind. 
That  Thou  to  him  so  great  respect  dost  bear, 
That  Thou  adorn''st  him  with  so  bright  a  mind, 
Mak'st  him  a  king,  and  e'en  an  angel's  peer, 

O,  what  a  Hvely  hfe,  what  heavenly  power. 
What  spreading  virtue,  what  a  sparkling  fire. 
How  great,  how  plentiful,  how  rich  a  dower. 
Dost  Thou  within  this  dying  flesh  inspire  ! 

Thou  leav'st  Thy  print  in  other  works  of  Thine, 
But  Thy  whole  image  in  his  soul  hast  writ, 
Tliere  cannot  be  a  creature  more  divine. 
Except,  like  Thee,  it  should  be  infinite. 

Nor  hath  He  given  these  blessings  for  a  day, 
Nor  made  them  on  the  body's  life  depend  ; 
The  soul,  though  made  in  time,  survives  for  aye. 
And  though  it  hath  beginning,  sees  no  end. 

Sir  John  Davies,  1599. 

And  religion  has  not  only  the  answer  to 
our  question,  but  it  affirms  also  a  law  which 
governs  the  life ;  for  only  half  the  problem  of 
being  is  solved  when  we  have  defined  it  and 
discovered  its  essence.     The  life,  as  we  have 


RELIGION  AND   LIFE.  20$ 

said,  is  manifold  and  divine.  It  is  fluent,  its 
energies  are  limitless,  it  seems  wayward,  al- 
most wanton.  There  is  no  chaos,  no  dis- 
order in  the  material  world,  but  in  the  vital 
universe  it  would  seem  that  this  very  liberty 
which  gives  it  its  difference,  gives  it  also  its 
misrule  and  its  riot.  But,  as  religion  declares 
that  life  is  the  activity  of  spirit,  and  is  there- 
fore free  from  the  surroundings  of  the  physi- 
cal, so  also  it  affirms  that  there  are  spiritual 
limits,  and  these  are  the  manifestations  of 
the  Supreme  and  the  Absolute  Spirit,  by  which 
our  natures  are  to  be  governed,  and  (if  not 
self-controlled,)  must  necessarily  be  subordina- 
ted and  bound.  Man  is  free,  religion  de- 
clares— absolutely  free  of  sense,  and  matter, 
and  force ;  but  man  is  conditioned,  law-given, 
law-governed  by  the  intelligence,  and  purpose, 
and  will  of  the  Almighty,  the  infinite  God. 
God  is  thus  the  rule  of  life.  He  stands  at  its 
beginning  and  sets  it  going.  He  watches  and 
guards  and  directs  it.  Every  step  we  take  is 
a  step  beneath  His  eye,  and  with  His  hand 
on  either  side  of  us,  to  keep  us  in   the  way 


206  SERMONS  TO   STUDENTS. 

that  He  would  have  us  walk,  or  at  least  to 
compel  us  from  that  path  wherein  we  must 
not  travel.  And  what  is  for  each  of  us,  is  for 
all.  God  is  the  law  of  man's  general  life. 
The  course  of  kingdoms,  peoples,  the  move- 
ment of  the  race,  the  progress  of  the  ages — 
all  these  are  by  God's  will  and  according  to 
the  predetermined  purposes  of  his  sovereign 
rule.  If  you  please,  you  can  beat  against  this 
will  as  thfe  bird  against  the  cage  wherein  it  is 
confined,  and  find  that  your  struggle  only 
wounds,  only  destroys  you.  You  may  obey 
it,  rest  upon  it,  as  that  same  bird,  when  he 
spreads  his  pinions  upon  the  driving  wind, 
and  it  shall  bear  you  up  and  send  you  on 
your  course,  and  lift  you  to  heaven  in  a  glad 
flio-ht  of  the  soaring  soul.  ''  Promise  and 
Potency"  indeed!  Is  this  all  you  can  make 
out  of  life  ?  Religion,  which  shows  you  your- 
self and  God,  in  the  blessed  communion  of 
spiritual  freedom  and  obedience,  turns  the 
promise  into  ecstatic  bliss,  and  makes  the 
potency  an  assured  possession,  a  certain 
achievement. 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  20/ 

And  religoin  takes  one  other  step  in  this 
lesson  to  the  student  of  hfe.  It  does  not 
merely  tell  him  what  is  life,  not  merely  utter 
for  him  its  law.  It  shows  him  the  highest 
life,  it  brings  the  law  down  from  the  awful 
altitude  of  the  divine  Being,  and  gives  it  the 
form  of  action  with  which  he  is  familiar,  bind- 
ing it  to  his  own  soul  in  such  an  one  as  him- 
self, leads  him  on  in  a  companionship  of  life 
transfigured  by  love  which  at  once  instructs, 
inspires,  and  saves  him.  Thus,  after  all, 
life,  as  we  have  said,  is  not  only  a  study,  but 
it  is  a  practice.  There  is  an  art  of  living  as 
well  as  a  science.  Men  must  know  life,  but 
they  must  also  live.  And  this  is  man's  chief 
need,  and  in  meeting  this,  religion  has  given 
man  her  highest  blessing.  To  know  what 
he  is  and  to  know  his  law,  and  then  without 
a  teacher  to  perceive  the  awful  gulf  between 
him  and  his  law — this  were  to  curse  man  with 
that  last  and  most  awful  curse  of  knowing 
only  his  despair,  his  ruin.  But  there  is  One 
who  bridges  the  gulf,  there  is  One  who 
speaks,  indeed,  the  language  of  the  law,  but 


208  SERMONS   TO   STUDENTS. 

with  such  tones  of  love,  taking,  meanwhile, 
the  hand  of  man  and  leading  him,  that  man 
begins  to  hope,  and  hoping,  steps  onward 
and  rejoices  in  the  way  of  God. 

At  last  then,  religion  brings  men  to  Jesus 
Christ.  There  is  life,  such  life  as  God  re- 
quires, but  there  too  is  grace,  and  love,  and 
help,  God's  own,  God's  given,  God's  assured, 
and  so  love  transfigures  life,  and  lifts  it  to  the 
bosom  of  the  Eternal,  and  in  Him  who  is 
God  with  us,  we  find  that  we  may  be  Avith 
God;  for  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the 
Father,  and  that  blessed  Son  of  God  is  not 
only  the  Life  and  the  Truth,  but  also  the 
very  Way  to  God  Himself. 

So,  brethren,  my  task  is  done.  What  is 
our  life  ?  I  asked  at  the  commencement — 
an  all-important,  all-engaging  question,  an- 
swered only,  but  then  fully,  in  Jesus  Christ. 
It  remains  only  for  me  to  ask  you,  What  is 
yo7ir\i(Q?  Is  it  still  a  query?  naught  but  a 
careless  wonder  ?  perhaps  a  curious  half- 
mocking  doubt,  perhaps  an  anxious,  despair- 
ing cry?     The    wise  man    studies    from    the 


RELIGION   AND   LIFE.  209 

best  masters.     Will  you  not  seek  the  answer 
where  only  it  can  be  fully  given  to  you  ? 

O  Thou  great  Friend  to  all  the  sons  of  men, 
Who  once  appeared  in  humblest  guise  below, 

Sin  to  rebuke,  to  break  the  captive's  chain. 

And  call  Thy  brethren  forth  from  want  and  woe  : 

We  look  to  Thee  ;  Thy  truth  is  still  the  light 

Which  guides  the  nations  groping  on  their  way — 

Stumbling  and  falling  in  disastrous  night. 
Yet  hoping  ever  for  the  perfect  day. 

Yes  !  Thou  art  still  the  Life ;  Thou  art  the  Way 

The  holiest  know; — I^ight,  Life,  and  Way  of  heaven, 

And  they  who  dearest  hope  and  deepest  pray, 

Toil  by  the  light,  life,  way,  which  Thou  hast  given. 
Theodore  Parker,  1846. 


THE  END. 


THE    LIFE    OF 

CHARLES  HODGE,  D.D.,  LLD 

By   his    Son,  A.  A.  HODGE,  D.D. 

With  two  Portraits  Engraved  on  Steel  by  A.  H.  Ritchie. 


One  vol,,  Svo.,  cloth,  gilt  top,    -       -        -       -       $3 MO 


The  Life  of  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  by  his  son  and  successor,  Dr. 
A.  A.  Hodge,  is  the  worthy  record  of  an  almost  ideally  perfect  career.  The 
subject  of  this  memoir  occupied  the  most  prominent  position  of  any  man  of 
his  time  in  this  country  as  a  guide  and  leader  of  religious  thought,  and  this 
by  no  means  wholly  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  denomination.  The 
influence  he  exerted  was  great,  because  of  his  consummate  ability  and  the 
conscientious  use  and  improvement  of  his  natural  gifts,  but  also,  and  chiefly 
because  of  his  noble  christian  character.  It  was  the  heart  even  more  than 
the  intellect  that  made  Dr.  Hodge  what  he  was,  and  it  is  this  side  of  the 
man  that  is  brought  most  prominently  forward  in  the  memoir  now  published, 
consisting  as  it  does  largely  of  his  letters  to  intimate  friends  in  this  country 
and  abroad. 

In  his  great  work.  Systematic  Theology.,  and  in  his  numerous  contributions 
to  the  Princeton  Review,  it  is  the  professor  of  Theology  who  speaks,  but  in 
his  frequent  and  affectionate  correspondence  with  his  class-mate  and  life- 
long friend  Bishop  Johns,  and  with  other  intimates,  is  revealed  his  sweetness 
of  character,  humility,  supreme  devotion  to  the  truth,  and  his  holy  life. 

The  biographer  has  done  his  part  well  in  sifting  and  choosing,  and  in 
laying  before  the  reader  the  record  of  his  father's  literary  and  professional 
career,  and  the  narrative  of  his  home  life.  To  the  many  hundreds  of  ministers 
of  different  denominations,  who  have  sat  at  his  feet,  the  book  will  have  a  very 
precious  significance,  but  it  will  also  have  a  universal  interest  and  value. 
Two  portraits  of  Dr.  Hodge  have  been  engraved  for  the  work  by  A.  H. 
Ritchie,  one  a  likeness  at  the  age  of  forty-nine,  and  the  other  from  a  painting 
by  Ritchie  at  the  close  of  his  life.     There  is  also  a  picture  of  his  study. 


*^*  The  above  hook  for  sale  by  all  booksellers.,  or  "jvill  be  se>ii,   uj>oti  receipt  0/ 
frice  by 

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The  Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion,  as  Illustrated  by 

THE  RELIGION  OF 

ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

By  P.  LE    PAGE    RENOUF. 

(The  Hibbert  Lectures  for  1879.^ 


One  volume,   12rao,       -------        $l.BO 

M.  Le  Page  Renouf's  great  reputation  as  an  Egyptologist  led  to  his 
selection  to  deliver  the  second  course  of  the  already  celebrated  Hibbert 
series.  His  lectures  are  the  fit  companions  of  Professor  Mulier's,  both  in 
learning  and  in  interest.  The  glimpses  laboriously  gained  by  the  aid  of 
long  undeciphered  hieroglyphics  into  one  of  the  most  mystical  and  profound 
of  all  the  ancient  beliefs,  have  always  had  a  special  fascination  ;  and  the 
time  has  now  come  when  it  is  possible  to  join  their  results  into  a  fairly 
complete  picture.  Done  as  this  is  by  M.  Renouf,  with  a  certain  French 
vividness  and  clearness,  it  has  a  very  unusual,  and,  indeed,  unique  interest. 


CRITICAL.    NOTICES. 

"  The  narrative  is  so  well  put  together,  the  chain  of  reasoning  and 
inference  so  obvious,  and  the  illustration  so  apt,  that  the  general  reader 
can  go  through  it  with  unabated  interest." — Hartford  Post. 

"  No  one  can  rise  from  reading  this  book,  in  which,  by  the  way,  the 
author  is  careful  about  drawing  liis  conclusions,  without  having  increased 
respect  for  the  religion  of  ancient  Egypt,  and  hardly  less  than  admiration 
for  its  ethical  system." — The  Churchman. 

"  These  lectures  are  invaluable  to  students  of  Egyptology,  and  as  the 
religion  of  ancient  Egypt  stands  alone  and  unconnected  with  other  religions, 
except  those  which  have  been  modified  by  it,  itself  being  apparently  original 
and  underived,  they  should  be  highly  interesting  to  all  students  of  religious 
history.  ,  .  .  It  is  impossible  in  a  brief  notice  to  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  Professor  Renouf's  admirable  lectures." — A/'.  Y.  World. 

"  The  present  work  forms  a  remarkably  intelligent  and  acutely  critical 
contribution  to  the  history  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  religion,  as  illustrated 
by  the  religion  of  ancient  Egypt.  As  a  specialist,  Professor  Renouf  is  able 
to  bring  forth  much  information  not  ordinarily  accessible  to  the  general 
reader,  and  this  he  does  in  such  a  carefully  digested  form  as  to  make  the 
work  entertaining  and  instructive  in  the  highest  degree." — Boston  Courier. 


*.5f*  For    sale    by    all   booksellers,   or  sent,   post-paid,  upon    receipt   of 
price,  by 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers, 

743  AND  745  Broadway,  New  York. 


